A Tail For Two Legs
by HetaWriter - HetaReader
Summary: Antonio was a merman who was intrigued with the humans and how they lived on the surface. He then hears a beautiful sound coming from the beach and sees a man wearing a straw hat; playing a strange instrument. His sad song and calm visage capturing the merman's heart. Pairing: Merman!Spain x Nyo!Vietnam. Shonen-ai. Rated T for language, references. Nyotalia characters included.
1. What Lies Below the Surface

_Greetings, HetaWriter/HetaReader here. This story is a new one I wanted to write, and it's better planned out - don't worry! I wrote down the **whole **summary and all the events that happened, I just need to plan the dialogue, descriptions, and any other element that is needed to create a story. I know that updates will be erratic as always, but this one, I have the strange feeling, will be the one that's updated the most due to my sudden burst of ideas.  
_

_Still, that doesn't mean that I'm giving up on my other stories, it just means I have plenty of ideas, and have to put them down so I don't lose them._

_Anyway, this story was actually inspired when my sister and cousins as well as my roommate Spain were watching Disney movies (not the crap in Disney Channel), **authentic **Disney movies from childhood. This included **The ****Little Mermaid**. Well, it was my sister's favourite movie, and now is my little girl cousin's favourite, too. :) (My personal favourite is the **Hunchback of Notre Dame**)._

_The story was also inspired by a Filipino movie I saw, but I doubt anyone knows about it. It was called **Dyesebel.**_

_The story more follows around **Dyesebel **then **The Little Mermaid**, but there are some elements of that still there._

_Anyway, this story contains Nyotalia and 2P!talia since I need characters to fit in, and plus I like how Himaruya had made note that the nations in 2P!talia were as if they were from an evil organisation. Plus, I cannot imagine the original nations along with the Nyotalia ones in the role as the villain._

_Long note aside, I hope you enjoy this story! :D_

* * *

There was a boat there that day.

A red one with white painted lines on its side. On it were two men who were waiting for something to bite. One was at the wheel while the other was outside, inhaling the fresh, natural scent of the ocean's salty water.

It was a beautiful sight to behold; the sun's rays were glinting onto the surface of the blue ocean's surface as its waves calmly swayed, gently rocking against the boat. A simple little nudge.

"Anything biting?" the man near the wheel asked his friend.

The other man shook his head, "Nope. Sorry. They're just not biting today…"

The man at the wheel simply nodded in acknowledgement, "Just come in. It's already midday. I reckon it's a good time for the both of us to have some lunch, don't you think?"

Here, his friend laughed, "Indeed. I'm starving!"

"It's a lovely day today, too," noted the man at the wheel. "It'll definitely be nice to have lunch out here in the sun and just next to the sea."

"That sounds lovely."

With that, the two men went downstairs into the cabin to obtain a mat to sit on, some plates and eating utensils, two mugs, and finally went to get some food, which was in a basket near a bed.

However, upon coming out, one of the men then realized something.

"Wait a sec…we're missing a fork!"

"What?"

"Look! We're missing a fork!"

The two men came closer to see that indeed, they were missing a fork. It was a really confusing matter, but the pair then decided to just continue eating and simply eat with their spoons and hands. It was a lucky thing that the basket's contents were mash, sandwiches, rice and also a flash, which contained some warm, home-made pumpkin soup.

The rest of the day proved to be unproductive – the fish weren't biting at all, and so as a result, they came home with empty nets.

One of the men sighed, "I can't believe it…it was such a nice day, today! I was positive that the fish would be reeled in today!"

His friend sighed and patted his shoulder, "Don't worry; next time we'll get some fish. Today's just one of those unlucky days…"

"Yeah," sighed the first man. "You're right there. Besides…I'm more weirded out about the missing fork."

"Now, now," reasoned the second man. "I'm sure that we just misplaced it somehow. It's still gotta be on the boat. Besides, it's just a fork; it's not like it's some new, wacky invention or some priceless treasure."

"Heh," the first man shrugged and gave a chuckle. "You're right there, my friend. Do you think Mr Nguyen will get upset with us since we caught nothing?"

His friend shook his head, "He may seem cold and blank, but really, you can't blame him – after what's just happened to him…"

Here, the first man looked both embarrassed and guilty, "Oh, yeah…I almost forgot about that…that was a low blow on his part – _nobody_ deserves to go through that."

"He's a strong one, though, Mr Nguyen is," his friend said with a fond smile on his face. "A strong one, indeed. And don't forget; he's still reasonably young – not even past thirty yet. I believe that one moment was just one of those _'young and dumb' _moments…"

"So very sad," sighed the first man. "He's a clever man, and he's skilful in creating things, too. Plus, it was so obvious that…"

Little did those two men know that the fork was a priceless treasure for someone else.

Beneath the very waves of the ocean, if you go straight down right to the bottom, people would be shocked to find out that there _were _sources of life living down there, and quite comfortably, too.

From where seaweeds and coral decorated along a bunch of rocky lining like a wreath, if you swam around; you'd see that there was a building made exactly out of pieces of grey rock, decorated with sea anemone and more underwater plants to provide colour to the sediment's dull hues. It was built in a structure akin to that of a massive, majestic palace worthy for a king.

What would shock people even more, is the fact that there were people also living in this rocky, underwater palace.

However, they weren't the sort of people you'd see on land.

"Where do you think _Antoine_ has gone off to this time?" wondered such a person. From the top half – the head down to his hips, he appeared to be a normal human being, however continuing from his hips down, his body ended into a tail.

He had shoulder-length, blonde hair that rippled in waves along with the water, and blue eyes as well as stubble on his chin. He was lanky with slender arms, but he had muscle located in the right places. His tail was scaly and dominantly royal blue, however the fins were in consecutive patterns of red and white and ended in a fan-like shape.

"Beats me," the merman with him shrugged as he crossed his arms over his bare chest.

This one had short, silver hair with asymmetrical bangs as well as very pasty skin. He was more muscular than the blonde merman, and appeared to be taller by just a little bit, but that could be due to the long, jet-black tail that appeared smooth. It also had a white line that ran down from the top near his stomach, and down to the underparts of his tail. His eyes were also a piercing crimson colour.

"It is a lovely day today, does it not look like it, Gilbert?" questioned the blonde merman as he sighed, his baby blues gazing fondly upwards to see hints of the sun's rays glinting through the sea's surface. "It must be a nice day to just laze around on the golden sand."

Here Gilbert's face pulled into a disgusted expression, "The awesome me does _not_ wanna get burnt today, Francis. No thanks. I'll go and swim with the dolphins – it's way awesomer to race them around!" here, his face pulled into a smug smirk.

Francis rolled his eyes, "You do love racing those dolphins, don't you, _mon ami_?"

"But of course!" responded Gilbert, his fists now on his hips. "They're awesome at racing!"

"_Ciao_, bastards," a new voice grumbled. Gilbert and Francis turned their heads to see that another merman was approaching them, and he was accompanied by a mermaid.

The merman appeared younger than Gilbert and Francis. He had an olive complexion and a slim build, but far from stick-like. He had dark brown hair with a long, wild curl that rested on the right side of his head. He also had hazel eyes – brown irises with flecks of light green located in them. His tail was dominantly dark green as well as the stems at the end that connected to the white fins. However, there were red stripes on the dark green junctions.

The mermaid was pretty tall in height with short, slightly curly, blonde locks of hair that was held back with a ribbon made of thatched sea grass and a single beautiful shell. She had almond-shaped, pale green eyes, and her lips were stretched into a cat-like smile. She had a bust above average standards, however with what she was wearing, which was a corseted front that was black at the back, however the front was yellow gold.

"_Bonjour_, Lovino!" greeted Francis as he immediately swam to the pair. "How is the prince today?"

"Shut up, bastard," snapped Lovino, the merman with the curl. "Where the hell is Antonio?"

Gilbert shrugged, "Beats us. We were waiting a bit of a while here…"

"Really?" the mermaid looked worried; her cat-like smile gone from her face. "For how long?"

Again, Gilbert gave another shrug. This time, he ran a hand through his silver hair, "I really don't know, _frau_. I really don't. Sorry."

Seeing her disappointed expression, Lovino spoke up, "Don't worry, Emma. I bet he's just running late. Sure he's stupid, but come on – Antonio's pretty strong, and even _he's _not stupid enough to get caught by a human."

"Yeah, but…" Emma bit her bottom lip. "What if he _did_? What if a human saw and caught him?"

"You're just being paranoid now, _frau_," spoke up Gilbert. "That's _way _too drastic and there's no sign of any of those weird contraptions those humans go on."

"I believe those _'weird contraptions' _are called boats, _mon ami_," remarked Francis.

"Who gives a damn?" Gilbert asked in response, looking clearly annoyed. "But seriously, I doubt that Toni's that stupid to allow himself to get caught by a human. Now, let's just wait for him…"

"Yeah," Lovino nodded. "Hopefully that bastard won't take too long to get here."

"Besides," added Francis, reassuring Emma. "We have gone to the surface _many_ times, _mademoiselle_. We are very careful and know the waters around here well! A human will not catch sight of us easily. And even if a human _did _see us, _Antoine_ certainly isn't a weak swimmer."

Unbeknownst to the group of four merpeople, the merman in question that they were waiting for, Antonio, was actually swimming along the surface in direction to a secluded cave.

The cave was resting near a cluster of mangroves were the water was even saltier, and due to the dangerous measures to reach it near the bottom of a cliff's side, as well as being rather close to the human village nearby, it was a perfect place to call home for a recluse.

Antonio's body rippled along in rhythm with the waves as he continuously swam towards the cave.

His dark brown locks of tousled hair was flying behind him, his emerald green eyes sparkling in excitement. His well-toned, tanned skin moved in a curved manner with his scaly, red tail following after. The billowing yellow gold fins flowing gently along with his body's direction despite how strong his body itself was moving. There was a little pouch that was slung over his shoulder as it battered against his strong, streamlined form.

He was panting slightly when he finally made it to the cave. Coming inside, he glanced around and called, "Kiku! Kiku?"

"Who is it?" a soft voice asked as drops of water fell from the stalactites that formed from within the cave's ceiling.

"It's me! Antonio!"

"Oh…" here, another merman slowly poked his head out from behind a rock. He made a beckoning gesture, prompting Antonio to swim around and near a little step that was between the land and the seawater where the other merman was positioned at.

"_Hola_, Kiku!" beamed Antonio. "How are you today?"

"I am doing fine, Antonio-kun," Kiku responded politely as he bowed his head down in respect. "Is there something you need?"

"I found something today!" the red-tailed merman chirped happily, his eyes sparkling in delight as he reached into the pouch he brought along with him. "Here! Take a look at it! It looks so cool!"

Kiku watched Antonio fumble with his pouch, also curious as to what he found. His hands were clasped together, as he waited patiently.

"Ah-hah!" Antonio called in triumph when he pulled out the odd object from his pouch. "Here it is!"

Kiku blinked as he then leaned his head forward, quite interested with what Antonio was holding. He gestured Antonio to come closer to him so he can see it in a better view. "_Sugoi_…" he breathed as he took the object from Antonio's hands. "Hmm…"

"Do you know what it is, Kiku?" inquired Antonio as he rested by his tail. "It looks so weird, huh? Weird, but cool! I wonder what it does…"

"Where exactly _did _you find this, Antonio-kun?" questioned Kiku.

"There was a boat at the top," Antonio answered back. "There were two humans eating, and I they just left it there! It looked so weird, I just _had _to get it!"

"_Demo_…that is still very dangerous," remarked Kiku. "Brave, but very dangerous – you know how the king reacts to us making contacting with humans…"

Antonio shook his head, "But what if he's wrong? I mean…all humans can't be _that _bad, can they?" here, he smiled, "I mean, you told me that yourself! You met a human, a female one, and she was really nice to you…"

Here, Kiku's face was an unhealthy shade of red. His small frame trembled slightly and he flicked his white tail in annoyance, the red fins glimmering in the water. "Please, don't bring that up, Antonio-kun," he said. "I really don't want to be reminded of that…"

Antonio nodded, for once understanding that he had gone into much deeper waters. He then poked the strange object, "Anyway, what do you think it does, Kiku?"

"Humans make all sorts of strange objects," commented Kiku as he brought the thing close to his brown eyes. He then ran a finger down the four points and after stroking it a few times, he brought it close to his hair; an idea seeming to formulate in his head. He then ran it through his short, jet-black hair and strands of his wet hair combed right through.

"Oooh! Oooh! Looks like you got it!" Antonio squealed in excitement.

"It seems to have the same use as that of a comb," said Kiku as he took another look at it. "_Omoshiroi desu ne…_"

"Wow…" Antonio marvelled as he gazed up at the object with awe. "A comb, huh? _Muy bueno_…"

"I have never seen it near the seas where I was born," remarked Kiku. "But I think it would be common in seas closer to the Western oceans. Humans are very interesting creatures."

"Oh, _si_!" agreed Antonio as he sighed dreamily. "I really wish I could walk with them…they must lead interesting lives…"

"I wonder what the sun is like from where they live," wondered Kiku. "It must be beautiful there still, surely…"

"_Si_…" sighed Antonio as he leaned back even more. "Must be nice…"

"I have seen humans laze around on the sands of the shores around the beaches here," commented Kiku. "They enjoy the sun's rays glowing down on them."

"Really?" laughed Antonio. "Why would they do that?"

Kiku shrugged, "That, I do not know. However, they may look different with those odd limbs they travel on and their culture, as well, however they don't seem that much different from us."

"_Si_," nodded Antonio, smiling. "I think so, too! They laugh and cry like us, too."

"Indeed," nodded Kiku. "They hang out with their friends, fall in love…"

"Yeah…hang out with friends…" sighed Antonio. Suddenly, he gave a slight scowl; why did he get the feeling that there was something wrong when he said that sentence aloud. "Hang out with friends…" he repeated.

It took him a little while to finally realize that there was something wrong.

He then gave a jerk as he yelped, "_Ay Dios mio_!"

"A-Antonio-kun…?!" Kiku asked, thoroughly shocked from his younger companion's sudden action. "W-what's wrong…?"

"My friends!" cried Antonio. "I forgot! We were supposed to be hanging out today! Oh no! _Lo siento_! But I have to go, Kiku! _Adios_, and thank you again!"

"W-wait! Antonio-kun!" called Kiku. "You forgot your—"

Too late, he took sight of Antonio's strong form swim away in a hurry, causing ripples to rapidly flow on the ocean's surface.

The Eastern merman sighed in exasperation as he ran a hand through his hair. He then stared down at the object that his younger companion found, and rubbed his chin, getting that nagging feeling that this thing in his hand wasn't used for combing hair…

"_Mi amigos_!" squeaked Antonio as he finally reached the four merpeople who were still waiting in the deeper waters. They turned their heads to face him, "I am _so _sorry! I'm so sorry to keep you waiting!"

"_Finally _you show up!" Lovino snarled. "Took you long enough, you damn bastard! Where the hell _were _you?"

Before Antonio could respond, Emma shook her head, "That doesn't matter! What matters is Antonio's okay!" the cat-like smile returned to her face upon taking the sight of him.

"_Ja_," Gilbert nodded. "Now, come on, already! I wanna go race some dolphins, and I think Francis wanted to soak in some of the sunlight! So, let's hurry up! Wasting time is so unawesome!"

"Oooh! You guys!" piped up Antonio, looking excited. "I can't wait to tell you what I found!"

"And what exactly _did _you find, _mon ami_?" questioned Francis. Personally, Francis wasn't so interested with humans and their inventions, however he did have to admit that some of them were quite unusual.

"Save it 'till when we get to the spot!" called Gilbert as he then shot past them, tail rippling in the water. "Come on! Let's go already!"

Antonio nodded as he swam away with his friends, the sunlight from above still glinting down shards of its rays past the sea's surface.

* * *

_The very first chapter comes to a close. The merpeople can talk in other languages like people, due to having been born in separate waters. Antonio was born in the North Atlantic Ocean, which is at the south of Spain, for example._

_The next chapter will feature Antonio's love interest, who is Nyo!Vietnam. Yes, I'm writing a shonen-ai/seinen-ai with my OTP crack SpaViet. XD but hey, I think they'd work out! Nyo!Vietnam seems similar in personality to Vietnam, but I think he's colder whereas Ms Vietnam is just shy. _

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? I'd like to know what you think about this so far. :D _

_Hope you have a nice day!_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	2. The First Temptation of the Siren

_HetaWriter/HetaReader here. :) the next chapter of this story brought to you. :D_

_A BIG thanks goes to **Lucy's Wonderland Madness **for the follow AND the review. :D_

**_Lucy's Wonderland Madness:_**_ Haha, very well, I shall continue on! ;)_

_Very short beginning note, but what I will say is that some of the things that the mer-characters don't know about will be told by the readers what it is, but to them, it's referenced as maybe something else (e.g. here, coconut is coconut simply used, but the mer-characters refer to it as a strange rock)._

_Anyway, shall we continue? _

* * *

"Oh, hell yeah!" Gilbert screamed in delight as his body purged forward like a black and white bullet in the sea. Two dolphins were squeaking in delight as they swam in a rapid pace; keeping up with the silver-haired merman, but not quite reaching him. "Kesesese! You'll have to do better than that!"

"Wow, look at him go!" marvelled Emma; quite awed at how fast he could go. She called, "Go Gilbert! Go dolphins!"

Francis simply lifted his head, lazily looking out at one of his best friends racing with the friendly sea mammals. He shrugged and laid his head back down as the sun continued to shine down on his back.

"You can do it, Gilbert!" cheered Antonio as he raised a fist. "Go on, _mi amigo_! You can do it!"

Lovino rolled his eyes from where he was sitting as he spoke up, "My bet's on the dolphins."

"Why is that, Lovi?" questioned Antonio curiously.

"Because look; one will screw him over, and another will win the race."

"Kesesese!" cackled Gilbert in his odd, little raspy chortle as he turned his head around to look at his two fellow competitors. "I'm almost at the finish! You can't catch up to the awesomeness!" the big smirk on his face then deteriorated when he noticed that there was only one dolphin swimming behind him. "Hey, wait! What the hell? Where's your frie—"

He was cut off when all of a sudden, the other dolphin swam at his left and rammed him. With a startled grunt, Gilbert was knocked away from the path to the finishing line by one dolphin, while the other swam right through the finishing point, which was simply where Antonio, Emma, Lovino and Francis were.

"Hey!" Gilbert protested. "That was so not awesome! You cheated! Both of you! You did!" however, he was cut off when the dolphin that rammed him began nuzzling its snout right into the black-tailed merman's neck. Gilbert chuckled as the dolphin continued showering him with affection, "I know you're just distracting me! I'm not stupid! Kesesese! _Mein Gott_! That tickles!"

"Gil looks like he's really having fun, don't you think?" Antonio asked, his red tail glinting underwater from the little specks of sunlight that shimmered through the water's surface.

"Yeah," agreed Emma, who nodded. "That _does _look like fun."

The other dolphin then swam up to the silver-haired merman and splashed him playfully with his flippers, squeaking happily. Gilbert gave a yelp as the water sprayed all over his face. However, he simply laughed as he splashed the dolphin with his hands. The dolphin squeaked, both in shock and delight as it swam around him and nudged him as well.

"He sure has his way with dolphins," remarked Lovino as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ah, but not just dolphins, _mon cher_," Francis spoke up, looking up with a little, lax smile. "He is brilliant with any animal so far. I have not seen an animal that doesn't like him so far."

"Really?" Emma looked quite amazed. "I thought it was only dolphins!"

Here, Antonio shook his head and spoke up, "Nope! Gilbert's really great with all kinds of animals. Dolphins are just one of them. Animals seem to like him, for some reason."

"Probably because that bastard's a lot like an animal himself," murmured Lovino as he rolled his eyes.

Francis chuckled, "That very well may be, _mon ami_."

"What you got there, _mein freund_?" the four merpeople turned their heads to see that one of the dolphins had swam up to Gilbert with a coconut on its nose. The silver-haired merman arched an eyebrow, "What the hell? Oh…it's one of these hard rock things…" he took it from the dolphin and peered at it, its scratchy surface rubbing against his pale skin. "Hmm…"

He then threw it and straight away, both of the dolphins swam after it. Then the one that got it balanced it on its nose and the other whacked it off its nose with its tail fin after giving a leap.

"Whoa!" Gilbert had to quickly dive in the water and leapt up from the ocean to catch the coconut. "Kesesese! That was _awesome_! Come on! Let's do this!" he reared back his arm and threw the coconut.

Soon after, the four merpeople were watching on in interest at their red-eyed friend who was playing around with two dolphins with a funny object that came from some of the trees around these shores.

"Gilbert!" Antonio called. "Can I join you? That looks a lot like fun!"

From his spot on the golden sands that was hidden from the cliff's surface, Antonio hoisted himself and crawled to get into the water. There were also an array of wild palm trees that covered the top so they were hidden from view. The only way to be viewed was if you were swimming around the cliff's corner.

However, there was danger around the corner.

Soon, Emma and even Lovino had joined Gilbert, Antonio and the two dolphins in their little game with the coconut (though they all still did not know what it was, and just thought it was an odd type of rock).

The group had split into two teams of three and had one dolphin each. Lovino and Emma with one dolphin on the side that was further away from the cliff's corner, while Antonio and Gilbert was with the other dolphin on the side that was closer to the cliff's corner. Francis simply kept score as he watched from his spot.

"Score!" roared Gilbert in triumph as he and Antonio immediately linked hands firmly. "Another point to the awesome team!"

Lovino seethed, "We're not done yet, you bastards!" and with that, he grabbed the coconut and threw it with all his might.

Possibly due to his frustration, the force he applied to the throw he gave the coconut was quite far. It flew in the air, right over Gilbert, Antonio and their dolphin's heads. Even when the dolphin leapt up to try and whack it back with its tail, it missed by a few and the coconut continued flying.

There was a loud _'sploosh' _that reached all of their ears, and they all stared with widened eyes. Even Francis had chosen to prop himself up, his attention now gained.

The coconut had flew past the cliff's corner.

"Chigi!" shrieked Lovino, his face reddened in both fury and embarrassment as he beat at the water's surface with a fist, causing a splash. "Damn it!"

"Damn…" Gilbert sighed. "Well, there goes our fun…thanks a lot, prince…"

"Shut up, silver-haired bastard!"

"Lovino, calm down! It's okay!" Emma spoke up, trying to comfort the curl-haired merman. "We'll just find something else to do!"

"Nah, we can continue playing!" said Antonio. "I'll get it!"

"Wait, what? No!" Emma squawked when she saw the red-tailed merman immediately start swimming off in the direction to where their toy had landed. "Don't! Antonio, that's dangerous! No!"

"You idiot! We'll get in shit loadsof trouble!" Lovino said sharply as he tried to grab after his friend.

Too late, Antonio's figure had disappeared from view as it swam away.

"Where is _Antoine _going?" Francis questioned as he chose to enter the water himself and approach the group.

"He's gone off to get silver-haired bastard's stupid rock thing!" Lovino responded snappily. "He went past the cliff-side!"

Here, Francis' baby blues widened in shock, "Seriously? He went around? All by himself?" seeing them nod, the blond merman shook his head, "_Mon dieu_! Someone has to go after him! It is better to go in pairs than one!"

"_Ja_, I agree with you there," Gilbert nodded. "Plus, none of us has ever gone _that _far out yet!"

"Very well. Thank you very much for volunteering to go and fetch _Antoine_, Gilbert."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who the hell said that it was the _awesome me _who had to go fetch Toni! Why don't you go and fetch him for once, Francis? Instead of lounging on your large tail for the sun to burn you!"

"You imbecile! It is simply for beauty purposes that I even stand the sun! Maybe you should try it; your skin is as pasty as a beluga whale!"

"Why I oughta-!"

"Fuck you both!" Lovino shouted, causing the two older mermen to stop their childish bickering. "_I'll _fetch that stupid bastard's tail!"

"W-wait!" protested Gilbert. "Lovino…!"

"Lovino, I don't think it should be you, who…!" began Francis.

But unfortunately, the both of them were cut off from Lovino splashing them both with his tail as he swam past the rocky cliff in pursuit of the red-tailed merman.

Gilbert and Francis exchanged worried glances and looked at the direction that both of their friends had disappeared off to. Emma also looked really concerned as she clasped her hands together. The dolphins looked uneasy, too. One gave a soft squeak as it rubbed against Gilbert's shoulder, seeking some physical affection. The other dolphin simply looked at the direction, too.

* * *

"Ah-hah!" Antonio gave a wide beam as he found the strange rock (coconut). He held it up in triumph. "Got you! Now, I can go back!"

"Well, that went better than I though."

"I told you, didn't I?"

Antonio was immediately brought back to reality from his momentary flash of success when he could hear voices. He whipped his head around and his emerald eyes widened when he saw that he was somehow near some strange ledge where more of those things that humans travelled on when going across water left.

He remembered that according to Francis, humans called them _'boats'_.

The red-tailed merman gave a little inaudible squeak as he quickly dove back into the water. He came close to the bottom as he held the coconut close to his chest as he gazed up worriedly at the boat.

"Yeah…you were actually right on that. And here I was worrying!"

"I told you; Mr Nguyen's not a bad person – he's just misunderstood by a lot of people. Plus, he's going through a rough time right now."

"Yeah, yeah, I know…that is hurtful, after all. I'd get pissed off and pretty damn upset if that happened to me…"

Whoever this Mr Nguyen was, he sounded very sad, in Antonio's opinion. Here, the red-tailed merman hoped that the human wasn't as depressed as the two humans on the boat say he was.

"Indeed. You think that what you have is real, but in the end, it was simply a façade just to use you…and for money, nonetheless!"

"He was almost sucked dry…I'm impressed that Mr Nguyen's still able to get back on his feet!"

Here, Antonio gave a slight jerk, feeling _really _sorry for this Mr Nguyen person – was he unable to walk? Did something happen to his legs? That thought really struck Antonio, and it made him feel really sad for the human that the other two were talking about sorrowfully.

Imagine not being able to move on your own anymore…

"Bastard!"

Antonio whipped his head around and saw Lovino glaring right back at him, his hand on his arm. "Oh, _hola_, Lovi!" beamed Antonio. "What are you doing here? You're not allowed here."

Lovino rolled his eyes, "To get your stupid, sorry ass back to where we _should _be! Now, come on! Let's just swim away…" however, much to his chagrin, Antonio's curiosity was starting to take control of his being. "You _idiota_!" hissed Lovino as Antonio swam towards the boats instead. "What the hell do you think you're _doing_?!"

"Come on, Lovi! Aren't you excited? Francis, Gil and I have never made it out this far before! I don't want to miss another chance to come here!"

"You're fucking _crazy_!" Lovino rubbed his temples. "Really! You are!"

Antonio sighed, "Well, if you don't wanna come with me, that's fine. But I'm gonna go and explore for a bit!"

"Chigi! Wait for me, you bastard!" squawked Lovino as he hurriedly swam after his red-tailed companion. "There's no way in hell that you're leaving me back there!"

Antonio swam a bit more underneath the strange ledge where all of the boats were located and curiously chose to surface after seeing the lack of sunlight from where they were – the rays were a bit away.

Surfacing, the red-tailed merman could see some buildings that looked both similar yet different to their home underwater. The shape was quite similar, however the buildings underwater were rounded and appeared smoother. Nonetheless, Antonio quite liked the sharper edges on these buildings, and besides, there were some signs of flora that decorated near the windows, providing colour and cheer.

The merman could see there were some humans outside, too. Most of them were walking by, but then Antonio saw something that excited him – one of them was riding something they _definitely _didn't have underwater.

It had two strange circular contraptions that spun as the human rotated some strange levers with their feet. Meanwhile, they were holding onto handles that connected with the circular contraptions.

Humans were so odd, but clever.

"Are we done yet?" Lovino asked, shifting uncomfortably in his spot.

"Not yet."

"Chigi!"

Antonio looked to the other side and saw that this time, there weren't as many buildings. He swam along the shoreline when he saw that there was some sort of tall wall. Eventually, Antonio saw that there were no humans at all here – there was another strange ledge with more boats, however there was only one building.

It was larger than the other ones and it looked far more beautiful than the previous buildings that Antonio saw. This house was far stranger than what the red-tailed merman had seen before, and it excited him, igniting the spark of curiosity even more.

This one was large, but looked sturdy and strong with many strange segments stuck together to help it stand up. There was what appeared to be a balcony at the top, and there were chairs and a table outside of the house and underneath shade caused from another cubical shape sticking out from the house's side.

"Look, Lovi! Look!" Antonio pointed at the house. "It looks nice, doesn't it?"

"Nice?" echoed Lovino, scowling at the house before their eyes. "More like weird…"

"It's nicely weird!" grinned Antonio. "Weirdly nice!"

"You're fucking weird…"

Suddenly, the door to the house was slid open, prompting Lovino to give a squeak of terror as he dove immediately underwater. Antonio followed suit before whoever opened the door could see the both of them. The both of them swam to the strange ledge where the boats were located and hid underneath it.

That was when they heard a language that was indistinguishable. It was spoken with a rapid tongue, but it sounded very intimidating to Lovino and rather unnerving to Antonio.

There were thundering steps echoing above them next.

And it took all of Lovino's control to prevent him from screaming in alarm at hearing the first step.

The poor, younger merman was clutching tightly at Antonio's arm, mumbling silent prayers to himself for it to stop. Antonio himself felt his heart rapidly beat from within his chest as he gazed up to the roof of the boat ledge. His emerald eyes were contracted as he began to feel a little frightened upon the experience himself.

The loud steps had stopped upon going past the two mermen and that was when they heard something drop down with a loud thump.

Lovino hissed, "Let's get the hell out of here!"

He and Antonio started their way back to where Gilbert, Francis and Emma were still most likely waiting in worry for them. They weren't sure how long those three were waiting for them, but it seemed long to Lovino.

However, before they could even leave properly from this boat ledge, a sound played.

It caused Antonio to stop and listen, his breath hitched into his throat.

A long, enchanting chord rang throughout the sea, resounding in Antonio's ears, causing a shiver to run down his spine and his tail.

"Come on, bastard! What are you waiting for?!" demanded Lovino. "Let's go!"

"_Qué_? O-oh! You go on ahead," was Antonio's response when he was brought back to reality by his friend's voice. "Don't worry; I'll catch up." Seeing the incredulous look on the younger merman's face, Antonio insisted, "Don't worry! I won't take long! I promise, I'll come right after you."

Lovino shook his head, eyebrows furrowed down to a scowl as he swam away.

Antonio licked his lips as he turned his head to the direction the entrancing sounds were coming from, and with that, he swam cautiously towards it. He took refuge behind a cluster of large rocks nearby, between the golden sands and the salty ocean. How he and Lovino hadn't noticed these rocks before was a mystery, but Antonio was glad that these natural forms were here so conveniently.

He then carefully peeked from behind two of the rocks to see who was the one that was making such beautiful melodies.

It turned out to be a human.

A male human that was standing close to the edge of the boat ledge. He had a rather slender body, but his arms were nicely built as were his legs. His eyes were gently shut, and his head was slightly tilted in a soft angle. He was wearing a strange, conical hat on his hat made of a golden sea-grass like material, contrasting well with his black hair. Despite the sharp features on his face, he appeared to be the epitome of peace from his poised posture and how easily he moved one of his hands, which was holding a thin object. It easily slid around and over some strings on a strange instrument that the male human was holding with another hand.

And that strange instrument was where the beautiful song was coming from.

Antonio could only watch, his green eyes glowing as he succumbed himself to the music playing right here by this human and his long, skilful fingers.

'_Muy bueno_…_' _he thought to himself. However, the red-tailed merman knew that he had to go back – his friends were waiting, and he wasn't supposed to be at this part of the ocean, anyway. The water was becoming much shallower, and there were more humans around.

Still, as Antonio reluctantly swam away from the human's domain, his body flowing in rhythm to the ocean's waves, he could not get that human's melody out of his mind. It continued to play in his mind, floating along with him in the ocean, moving and dancing in rhythm to the red-tailed merman's swimming.

The single, long, loud note that was quickly suppressed to a soft cry, the myriad of fast notes that came soon after, ending with that another single, enchanting note…

Antonio knew that he had to go, but it was only for now. Yes, just for now.

He couldn't be held away from something as wonderful as this.

Nothing would be able to stop him.

* * *

_And the second chapter comes to a close. It seems we only have a glimpse of Nyo!Vietnam here. Make no mistake, the next chapter will be centered around him, though. ;)_

_[Characters Introduced (since I missed the 1st chapter XD)]:  
Francis [France]  
Gilbert [Prussia]  
Emma [Belgium]  
Lovino [South Italy/Romano]  
Kiku [Japan]  
Antonio [Spain]_

_Next chapter may or may not come tomorrow. Probably not, but we'll see, shall we?_

_Thoughts and opinions? I'd really like to know what you think about this story - it's a more major idea now that I collect my thoughts together, and I'd like to hear what people have to say about a story like this. _

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader._


	3. Relieving Song of Sorrowful Đàn Nhị

_Hello all, HetaWriter/HetaReader here. It seems that nobody is interested with this story. However, that's perfectly fine by me - I just like writing stories, and I have a good feeling of completion with this one, since I have all of the plot down pat. :)_

_Anyway, a BIG thanks goes to** LaOlvidada902 **for the fave. :D  
_

_The story will now be told through Quan/Nyo!Vietnam's perspective, but fear not! It shall go back to Antonio's in the next one._

_I hope you enjoy. :)_

* * *

The town was quite small, but it was friendly and consisted of hardworking individuals. Everyone had a business, and they lived with each other, respecting others (though some did so rather begrudgingly) since they all tended to need something from the other when the time arose.

However, the citizen that had the most was always never found _inside _the town.

The man in particular owned a business that involved renting boats. Still, he rarely ever came to the docks, and whenever he did, he seldom talked – only wishing for the statistics, to meet who was requesting if they were new, and to also get paid.

He never spoke much, and even then, his honey-gold orbs were glassy – frozen with a rigidness that others couldn't melt, no matter how hard they tried.

And yes, they did try.

For the single, simple reason; they truly did care about him.

He wasn't always like this.

There was a time when he used to be more social; come out into town and just wander around to see how everyone was. Engaging in pleasant conversation here and there. And he would even laugh.

And once he laughed, there was a shimmering twinkle that lit up in those golden eyes, and they would extend to his whole being. The corners of his lips would raise up into a smile, and he would chuckle in that soft, yet inexplicably happy manner that would make others around him want to smile, too.

All the while he would volunteer to help them with any hardships or straining labour they were going under or immersing themselves into.

Of course, he _did _help whenever someone asked him to; despite his sudden change, he still had a heart. However, everyone noticed with worry that his very presence was just as icy as the appearance of his once warm eyes. Whenever someone spoke to him, he simply responded either with a nod, a shake of the head, or with simple words. Those simple words were said in a blunt and suddenly harsh tone that scared them; nothing at all like that soft, yet calm and gentle voice they once knew.

It seemed like his warm, beating heart was buried below many layers of stiff, rigid ice.

Everyone wondered what went wrong; how did he come to such an inhuman state? Many times, they questioned his family what was wrong since they were the only ones who truly knew what was occurring in his life, but even then, it was still very vague.

However, it came to light one day when he was in the market. Simply buying food for his family of three cousins and the Danish handyman he had hired only a few years ago…

"Mei-san!" said a voice sharply. "Are you paying any attention to the lesson?"

Giving a start, a teenage Asian girl wearing a peach-coloured _qipao _with gold trimming and had long, flowing sleeves as well as a white skirt, gave a squeak Blinking her big, brown eyes, she looked around to find that she was back in a boring, old classroom where now, many pairs of eyes were focused on her. At the front of the classroom, the youthful looking Japanese woman wearing a pink kimono looked rather annoyed, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Mei-san," the Japanese woman said sternly; her usually gentle face now strict. "Please, pay attention."

Mei, the teenage Asian girl, flushed furiously – feeling her face catch fire as well as her ears. "Sorry, Ms Honda…" she apologized sheepishly.

She tried hard afterwards to pay attention to the lesson, but really, she was never that interested in Arithmetic – her cousins were the ones who were good with the subject; not her.

It was an oddity that the family noticed, but Mei was the only one who seemed incapable to comprehend Mathematics as quickly as the others. She remembered that her parents were frustrated, and only when her older cousins intervened, did her parents decide that their time and focus was in vain, and decide to just lump their supposed _'problem' _onto them.

At once, her Vietnamese cousin welcomed her with warm and open arms as he finalized the formalities to ensure he was her legal guardian. Mei was aware that she had two more cousins living with him, but she didn't mind at all; she was fairly close with her cousins.

'_Quan-kun is so nice…'_ she thought to herself once the bell rang, signifying that it was finally time to go home. She blew a wild, curly strand that stuck out on the right side of her head, out of her line of sight as she started packing everything.

"Mei-san," Ms Honda spoke up, her hands clasped to her front. "May we talk for a moment, please?"

Ms Honda was her Mathematics teacher, however, she was very gentle, elegant and patient. The ideal woman that Mei aspired to be one day. She was very beautiful and retained the face of a high-schooler, despite lacking definite curves (though Mei wasn't sure if it was because of the pink kimono Ms Honda was wearing) and certain _assets_ that the male gaze tended to wander on.

Mei _was _getting there – sure, her Arithmetic was still not on par with how her family wanted, but she was definitely improving. And that wasn't nothing, right? The Taiwanese girl nodded as she responded, "Sure, Ms Honda. What's up?"

"Is everything alright at home?" Ms Honda inquired, her face now tinted with worry. "Adnan-san from the café was telling me that he saw Quan earlier today. And apparently…there is no improvement to how he is."

Here, Mei's gaze fell to the ground as she heaved a heavy sigh, "Yeah…"

"Is he alright?"

"To be honest…" Mei bit her bottom lip, trying to find the right words to describe his predicament without worrying the Japanese teacher, and at the same time, not be in so much obvious denial. "I really don't know. He insists he's okay, but…" giving another sigh, she continued, "He spends time by himself even more, and I could just tell. That he's so…still so sad…"

"He will not see Elizaveta-san?" Ms Honda asked, her expression falling at hearing the grim news.

Mei shook her head, "No…he refuses to see her."

Ms Honda sighed as she ran a hand through her raven hair, "He is not starving himself, is he?"

"No," responded Mei, shaking her head again. "He isn't doing that; he's still eating the food that Kasem's making him."

"I see," Ms Honda nodded. "That is good to hear. Well, I suppose you have to be on your way now, am I right? I will see you later, Mei-san. Goodbye, and have a lovely evening."

"Same to you, Ms Honda," Mei bowed in response to the Japanese woman. "I'll see you at the boat party tomorrow!"

"And Mei-san?" Ms Honda called just before the Taiwanese girl could leave the classroom.

"Yes, Ms Honda?"

"Can you…please, give my best wishes to your cousin?" here, Ms Honda's pale cheeks were tinted with a soft pink. "Just tell him I said hello, and that I hope he is alright…"

Mei nodded, "Yes, Ms Honda. Goodbye!" and after waving to her farewell with the most cheer she could muster to lighten the now gloomy atmosphere, she was able to leave the building where two boys were waiting for her at the school's iron gates.

"There you are, Mei-Mei, da ze!" piped up the Asian boy. He had short, black brown hair with a strange curl that was on the right side of his head. It appeared to have a face, and it looked just as annoyed as the expression etched onto his face. "Where the heck _were _you?"

"She's just standing right in front of us, Yong Soo," the other boy, an Icelandic one with tousled silver-white hair and violet eyes, said in an irritated manner. "There's no need to shout."

"Sorry," apologized Mei. "I was just talking to Ms Honda."

Here, Yong Soo's face softened, "Why? What happened?"

"Nothing, really," Mei said with a shrug. "I just dozed off in her class by accident, and then she asked me about Quan…"

Upon mention of the man's name, Yong Soo's expression looked absolutely torn, and even the Icelandic boy with them looked a little worried. "Come on," the Icelandic boy spoke up. "We should get home…"

"Y-yeah…let's…"

It was an awkwardly silent walk on the pathway home, and it was highly unnerving. Usually, the two Asians would chat up a storm, painting a brighter picture to the three students that the Icelandic boy felt more accustomed to. Having them both so silent and look so forlorn really made him feel uncomfortable. In his opinion, they shouldn't have such expressions or demeanours at all.

"So…you're both going to that boat party tomorrow, right?" he spoke up, trying to shatter away the glum, grey atmosphere that was caused.

"Yeah," Mei nodded. "You're going there, too, right Emil?"

Emil also gave a nod back, "Yeah…though really, the thought of staying over water for several hours at night isn't something I'm looking forward to…"

"Really?" here, Yong Soo perked his head up. "I think it's pretty cool. I mean, it's not like we're gonna fall overboard and drown, or anything!"

"Don't say something like that," hissed Emil. "There's the possibility that someone _could_. You really never know."

"Well, I can't think of anyone who can't swim in our town," responded Yong Soo, tapping his cheek as his gaze fell upwards thoughtfully. "I mean, Mr Adnan knows how to swim, Mathias knows how to swim, Berwald and his wife know how to swim, too-"

"I thought Tino didn't know how to swim," Mei responded, arching an eyebrow.

Here, Emil shrugged, "I'm not sure on that one, but if he's in danger of drowning, Berwald will just jump in and save him."

"_Definitely_," here Yong Soo gave a light chortle. "He'll do _anything _for that guy, da ze!"

This time, Mei gave a dreamy sigh, "It's so romantic…if only I could find a man who'd be willing to do that for me one day…"

"Dream on, Mei-Mei," Yong Soo then gave a bright grin; obviously in better spirits than before. "You'll be old and wrinkly by the time Mr Perfect comes along, da ze!"

Mei snorted, "Oh, please! _You'll _be the one who's most likely to die alone, Yong Soo!"

The Korean boy stuck his tongue out at her, and in response, Mei stuck her tongue out at him back. While the two Asian cousins did this, Emil couldn't help but feel the corners of his lips curve slightly upwards.

It seems that both of them were back.

* * *

"I'm home, ana~!" a Thai man with wavy, spiky dark brown hair and wearing white as well as a golden sash adorning from his shoulder, entered through the door of the large beach house. He blinked his golden brown orbs in curiosity from behind clear glasses upon catching sight of a Vietnamese man who was sitting at the leather couch in the living room.

The Vietnamese man in question had rather soft-looking jet-black hair framing his face, providing a stark contrast to his glassy, honey-gold eyes. He was wearing a simple pale blue shirt and dark trousers. Right now, he was looking through stacks and piles of sheets of paper all on the table, surrounding his hunched form. He was expertly twirling a pencil with his spindly fingers, and poking numbers on a calculator.

"Were you there all day, Quan?" the Thai man questioned gently as he sat on one of the arms of the couch, seating himself right beside the Vietnamese man. "You were there since this morning when I left, ana~."

"Uh-huh…" was the short response he got. Quan didn't even look up at him; when he entered, his eyes darted up momentarily, but flew back to his paperwork upon realizing who had entered.

Kasem gave a sad smile as he then stretched his arms out and began rubbing and gripping at Quan's back. The Vietnamese man stopped from what he was doing, his eyes darted to the side from narrowed slits. "What are you doing, Kasem?" he asked.

"Massaging you, that's all," replied Kasem, his eyes gently shut. "You are working very hard as usual. It's honestly quite worrisome, ana~"

"The bills must be paid."

"You do realize that it is not just you that lives here, right?" Kasem then placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face him. "Yong Soo, Mei, Mathias, me…we're all here, ana~. You don't have to do anything alone."

Quan said nothing. He simply shut his eyes, and looked to the ground, his eyes now focusing on the calculator in his hands.

Kasem inwardly sighed, knowing that the Vietnamese man was intentionally avoiding eye contact. He continued on, "You do not have to put all of the pressure on your shoulders. If anything, please give some of the pain onto us, too. We don't mind, ana~."

Again, the Thai man was met with no response from his Vietnamese cousin.

Kasem this time gave a real sigh as he stood up from his spot, patting Quan's back. "Just take a break, okay? It's good to stretch your legs, ana~. I'm going to go make dinner, okay?"

Quan gave another blink as he slowly looked up, his empty gaze following after his Thai cousin who disappeared through the frame to the kitchen. Looking down at the sheets of paper, he pressed a few buttons on his calculator.

However, he stopped after a few presses, and shut his eyes, seemingly contemplating…

Kasem could hear heavy footsteps clamber up the set of stairs and was sorely tempted to poke his head out the doorway to see what was going on with Quan, but decided to just stay put. Quan never liked attracting attention, no matter what.

Sure enough, he could hear more of his heavy footsteps again, and this time, the front door was creaking open.

"I'm going out for a while," Kasem could hear him say in a quiet, yet firm voice. However, just before he left and the Thai man could return to his cooking, he could hear some mumbling spoken in an even quieter tone, but nonetheless, was still audible.

"_Đừng lo_…_tôi khỏe_…"

Hearing the door close, Kasem simply sighed as he clicked his tongue, expertly cutting the carrots and onions. The odour of the vegetable burning his nose, and at once, hot tears were forming from the corners of his eyes. He gave a sniff as he continued cutting, licking his lips while concentrating on his task, though his mind wandered onto his cousin.

'_You say not to worry, and that you're fine…but really…we all know you're not…'_

* * *

Outside, Quan's blank gaze fell upon the scenery before him; the ocean was calmly rolling its waves around, sometimes softly nudging some of the boats at the dock or nibbling at some of the golden sand near his home. The sun was actually starting to make its descent down the horizon, transforming the sky in a fusion of colours while the towering, crumbling cliffs at the distance continued to stand in its spot.

Despite seeing the scene millions of times before, the very sight of the natural scenery would never be old or boring for him. If anything, he found more reason to admire it.

Taking slow steps on his wobbly, lanky legs, he stood at the dock's end, he carefully pressed the corner of the instrument he brought out against his hip as he began positioning himself.

The instrument stood vertically and consisted of two silk strings as he held it in front of his being. The frets on its neck were made from horse-tail hair, and the body was covered with snake skin. He then swept a bamboo bow that was also fitted with horsehair, and, after adjusting himself a few times, began playing.

Honestly, he wasn't sure what he was playing. However, after that first long note that run throughout the sea's expanse, despite how timidly and unsurely he used his bow, his confidence began to build and soon, a myriad of notes danced and waltzed throughout the air.

Pretty soon, the player felt himself undergo a state of his peace; his mind melting away as his inner turmoils were projected out with his instrument – his beloved life-long friend and companion – as his confidante. Soon, it was as if all of those emotions that he had kept bottled inside of his being, that could only take so much, instantly left him.

His eyes were gently shut as he simply allowed his hand to guide the bow to produce the melody, and soon one was formed that floated around the air with the cool breeze as its partner.

And for once, Quan didn't feel anything. No anger, no pain, no sadness, no regrets.

And all too soon, it was all over.

But even then, he felt content just by staring out into the open and watching the sea, forevermore with different movements as it rolled around playfully at the distance while became more softer upon coming closer to him.

'_It must be lovely to live in the sea,' _he thought to himself as he took a pause to stare out at the open before propping his bow up and strum again. _'Really, it must…'_

* * *

"Shhh! Listen!"

Mei stopped as soon as Yong Soo had ceased his footsteps. Emil followed them. The three students strained their ears, and soon heard a ringing, haunting melody that danced gracefully in the air, embracing the playful gales.

"What is that?" Emil wondered, quite enamoured by the series of forte notes.

"_Hyeong _Quan must be playing again, da ze!" Yong Soo said excitedly, immediately lighting up. "He's playing again!"

Mei instantly broke into a run the rest of the way home, the beautiful, humane melody that echoed around her grew increasingly louder as she came closer to home. She forgot that Yong Soo and Emil were shocked upon her sudden actions, she didn't care if her feet were going to hurt once she stopped, as her legs started to strain and throb.

She then caught sight of a figure playing at the far docks.

That was when she couldn't contain herself from shouting out the man's name at the top of her lungs to gain his attention.

"Quan-kun!"

Quan himself didn't stop playing; honestly he expected this to happen sooner or later, since he didn't keep track of how long he was playing his _đàn nhị_ but really, he didn't mind upon hearing her high-pitched squeal.

To be honest, he liked it. And oddly enough, he felt…a strange sense of relief wash over him when he opened his eyes and looked to the side, catching sight of the Taiwanese girl's petite figure scrambling towards him.

When he finally put an end to his playing, he carefully held his instrument as he turned his head to face her. "Good afternoon, Mei-Mei," he said in a quiet, yet pleasantly calm voice. "That is…highly unlike of you to run like that."

Mei said nothing.

Instead, she just stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, clutching him so tightly, as is she were afraid that he was going to disappear out of thin air at any second.

It took a moment or two, but eventually, Quan placed his bow in the same hand that held his _đàn nhị_, and slowly brought his hand up to Mei's dark brown locks. He simply gazed down at his younger cousin, his once blank honey-gold eyes ignited with a little spark, that eventually grew into a flame.

It was a small, burning one, nothing at all like the blazing infernos that shone brilliantly from long ago, but they were flames nonetheless.

And they would eventually grow back to their magnificent height someday.

He tenderly stroked and patted her head, feeling the corners of his lips twitch a little upwards, however they didn't move from their tight line.

* * *

_And so ends the 3rd chapter. I noticed that Nyo!Vietnam doesn't have a human name, so I just gave him one after researching male Vietnamese names online. Quan stuck out to me the most, and so, that's what I'll call him from now on (in anything, really). I used it before in HetaVoice, anyway._

_[Characters Introduced]:  
__Mei [Taiwan]  
Ms Honda [Nyo!Japan]  
Yong Soo [South Korea]  
Emil [Iceland]  
Kasem [Thailand]  
Quan [Nyo!Vietnam]_

_Next chapter will come later, but in this week some time. _

_To those who wonder just what a ****__đàn nhị__ is, it's a beautiful instrument native to Vietnam, that is related to the Chinese erhu = files . myopera nguyennamphuong / albums / 896699 / DAN%20NHI . jpg (remove spaces)_

___The song that Quan plays in this one was inspired by this one = www. youtube watch? v=8Jvu2xzr-KI (again, remove spaces)_

___Sooo...thoughts and opinions? I honestly don't expect people to really read this now, since it's a **really**_ _rare crack, and it's also shonen-ai; which usually isn't what I usually immerse myself into writing. However, I just can't help myself with this one, really...XD_

_I hope you have a splendid day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	4. Path of Responsibility, Path to Recovery

_Good day, HetaWriter/HetaReader here, bringing to you another chapter! :D this one is a bit longer, I feel, but really, I want to get around to typing the next one soon because that one will _finally _have Antonio interact with Quan (though Quan will not be aware of it at the time...XD)_

_Anyway, a BIG thanks goes to **NoraMermaid** for the fave, and a BIGGER thanks goes to **Madam Platypus **and **Lucy's Wonderland Madness **for the reviews! 8D_

**_Madam Platypus:_**_ Don't worry, I don't mind the bad pun. XD (my room-mate sucks at jokes, your pun is funny compared to the stuff he says). Ahhh, I'm happy that you like SpaViet, even though it's got Nyo!iViet-kun rather than our normal lovely lady, Ms Vietnam. =^^= if you're interested with it normally, you can check out my two other SpaViet stories "**Chopsticks**" and "**Straw Hat**". ;) I honestly can't wait to write more. :D_

**_Lucy's Wonderland Madness: _**_Well, how Quan turned out the way he is now will progressively begin to deteriorate as it gets explored upon. :) unfortunately, the cause may or may not return to remind him of his moment of weakness. Thank you very much for your reviews! Well, Quan actually didn't sing - he was playing his instrument, and Antonio was entranced by it. =^^= don't worry! They'll have an interaction in the next chapter! Though as I've stated before, Quan will not be aware of the interaction at the time. ;)_

_Let us continue now, shall we?_

* * *

The household were overjoyed that Quan was beginning to open. Sure, he still seldom talked, and was still more withdrawn, however he _was _showing signs that he was starting to tread on the path of recovery.

For instance, right after Mei embraced him, she gently tugged at his arm and discarded her shoes, wanting to feel the sand between her toes. Likewise, Quan removed his sandals and walked right beside her. During this time, the Taiwanese girl was delighted in having a bit of a conversation with him. Of course, he didn't speak much, just spoke simple words here and there, however, she was ecstatic to see that that blunt, frosty tone he had adopted was already sporting a chip in it – a sign of starting to melt away.

Then Yong Soo joined in by running at Quan and leaping on him, which almost made the Vietnamese man drop his _đàn nhị_. However, instead of coldly glaring at the Korean boy for his conduct, Mei was surprised at seeing that there was a tiny…a _very _tiny spark that lit up from the corner of their older cousin's honey-gold orbs.

At first, Yong Soo thought that he had possibly made things worse, and dreaded the thought of turning Quan back into ice. He opened his mouth to apologize to him…

…when his face was met with salty water.

Quan had tilted his head and simply told Yong Soo not to try that again, lest he be splashed again. However, despite how serious and strict his demeanour appeared, he stood there waiting, arms crossed over his chest. It took a while for the younger Asians to understand why the Vietnamese man wasn't moving from his spot, and still maintaining his steady gaze on Yong Soo, when Mei saw Quan shift his toes slightly in the sand, feeling the warmth and grain from under his feet as well as the soothing cool of the ocean.

And that was why she took a handful of the sea and splashed it right at Quan's face.

He discarded his straw hat, which meant things were taking a serious turn, and slowly turned his head to fixate his gaze this time on Mei. His expression was calm and maintained that firm and serious tone despite Mei's giggling.

Then before the Taiwanese girl knew it, she was grabbed and dragged into the ocean.

She gave a loud shriek upon scrambling her arms around and resurfacing, her curly ahoge now drooping and the flowing, white sleeves of her _qipao _flowing airily in the ocean's expanse. Feeling the strong arms around her, she looked up to see her older cousin.

Quan's hair was matted to his face, and some of his bangs were covering his eyes. His shirt was sagging, and starting to clutch onto his body. However, the twitch from the corner of his lips was unmistakeable.

The next thing Mei knew, she was getting bombarded by splashes to her face. Squealing, she splashed back, not caring that her clothes were going to get most likely ruined – she had spares.

Yong Soo had also dragged Emil into the ocean despite the Icelandic boy's protests, and joined in on the game. And soon, by the time the sun was already set from down the horizon, everyone was _completely _drenched, however, their spirits were lifted up. Emil went back home, which wasn't a long way away (he was the closest thing that they could call a neighbour), and upon bidding them goodbye, gave a sneeze.

Kasem was astonished upon seeing the rest of his family enter completely soaked to the bone, and the younger ones shivering. Mei and Yong Soo went to take a hot shower first while Quan took their discarded clothes and, after placing his _đàn nhị _down on the old, stuffy, leather couch.

"Something smells nice," the Vietnamese man mused as he made his way to the back to hang up the soaked clothes.

"I made my green curry," the Thai man responded in his direction. "And some stir fry with noodles. I was able to make some bubble tea for us to drink, too."

"Sounds good," Quan answered back as he started hanging the clothes, despite how much his own was dripping on the floor. "Mei and Yong Soo would definitely love that."

"Indeed, they would," Kasem agreed as he finished preparing the table with the generous, home-made dishes. Honestly, he was feeling thrilled that his cousin was beginning to engage himself more in a conversation. Simple words changed to simple sentences, which was a nice start.

Quan could feel the delectable aromas now invading his nose even more – a simple waft now a massive whiff that made the Vietnamese man feel even more at east; calming his breathing and being.

Dinner was a pleasant experience, and for once, it felt more like how a family should. There was some light conversation made at the table as everyone ate and admired the mixtures between taste and smell. A few jokes were made, and there was recounting of what happened in their day.

During that time, Quan ate and listened, however instead of simply ignoring and staring blankly at his family, he began to partake in the conversation. He would ask simple questions such as 'Really?' and 'How was it?' but, he would accompany it with his thoughts, albeit they would take a simple word or a simple sentence.

"Interesting…" he murmured after Yong Soo spoke about track practice that day. The Vietnamese man nodded as he ate a spoonful of green curry.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Yong Soo chirped, grinning widely. "Coach _fully _exploded at us for doing handstands on the bleachers!"

Soon, the conversation drifted to what would happen tomorrow night. Rosaliese Edelstein, an Austrian woman who was on the finer side of life, and a frequent customer of Quan's, was going to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. She requested to have it celebrated on a boat, specifically, a luxury one, which will cruise breezily in the ocean until it was around one in the morning.

"You're coming, too, right, _hyeong_?" Yong Soo asked, his big brown eyes blinking at the Vietnamese man.

"Yong Soo, I'm the one who's in charge of the boat," Quan responded simply. "Rosaliese would not be happy with me, if I didn't show…"

"No, no," Yong Soo shook his head. "What I meant is; you'll join us partying on the deck, right?"

Here, Quan looked hesitant, his golden eyes slowly narrowing. Honestly, he wasn't planning on dancing or playing games on one of his own boats; he just wasn't that type of guy. He was the kind of guy that prioritized his business and would prefer a calm walk on a beach's shoreline, rather than loud noises and being part of a crowd.

However, his eyes darting up at the eager and curious faces that were etched onto his cousins' faces, he felt that he couldn't say that two-lettered word again, knowing how much damage that single syllable made on them.

After eating a spoonful of green curry, the Vietnamese man shut his eyes and gave a half-hearted shrug on one shoulder, "We'll see."

That answer was good enough for his family, though, and they beamed at him.

That was when the door was swung open and a loud, booming voice traced with a thick accent called, "Something smells great!"

"Good evening, Mathias!" Mei waved when she saw a Danish man with pale blonde hair spiked with a fringe that swept to his right, and twinkling baby blue eyes enter the dining room.

"Hey! Little Mei-Mei!" he waved back, giving that warm, bright smile as he inhaled the beautiful aromas from Kasem's cooking. "_Lort_…I'm so hungry! This smells awesome, Kasem!"

"Thank you," chuckled the Thai man as the Dane took a seat between him and Yong Soo.

"Hey, Mathias! Guess what?" called Yong Soo.

"What?" Mathias asked, his cheeks already bulging from food as he blinked at the Korean boy.

"_Hyeong _Quan's gonna go and party with us, da ze!"

"Really?!" Mathias swallowed, the beam returning to his face straight away. "That's awesome! Good on you, Quan!"

"I technically said that we'll see," the Vietnamese man gave a light sigh, but he looked on in amusement at his cousin and the Danish man who were already engaged in an excited, motor-mouthed conversation with Mei simply giggling as she continued eating. Kasem couldn't help but give a smile at the atmosphere.

Even Quan himself felt that things were right for once.

* * *

Underwater, things were also preparing for a special occasion tomorrow moon. King Romulus had wanted to throw a party at the palace. Not a ball, a _party_. And according to Lovino, because the ruler of the kingdom felt that things were a bit too…quiet and plain in his waters, and wanted there to be some music for once.

And for everyone to enjoy.

"Chigi…" grumbled Lovino. "I swear! I don't know what runs in his mind, sometimes!"

"But come on, Lovi~" Antonio spoke up. "A party doesn't sound that bad, right? He's only ever thrown one during yours or Felicia's birthdays or his own, too!"

"_Oui_," agreed Francis, looking quite forward to another party occurring. "It is not every day that his royal Highness decides to throw a party just for the sake of it! I am looking forward to that, personally."

"That guy must be lonely," remarked Gilbert, his pale, muscled arms crossed over his chiselled chest. "Balls ain't the awesome me's thing…but parties are! So hell yeah, I can't freaking wait!"

"It really _does_ sound like fun, Lovino," Emma said as she smiled her strange little cat-like beam, her green eyes glowing in excitement. "I can't wait! A party and not a ball, and in the palace…"

Lovino gave a groan after hearing the blonde mermaid's opinion. He rubbed his temples then ran a hand through his dark brown locks, careful to avoid his curl. "Damn it, you guys…ugh! You know what?" he threw his arms up dramatically and shook his head. "I fucking give up! Fine! We'll party like irresponsible idiots and possibly _trash _the palace as well as have some random shit happening that we're all probably not gonna remember the next sun up! See if I freaking care if you all look like dumb bastards!"

"_Fratello_~! _Fratello_~!" a voice called out, searching.

Here, Lovino was clutching his head, mood dampening even more. "Shit…Felicia…what is it?" he asked, trying to suppress his exasperation when a young mermaid that bore quite a lot of resemblance to him, swam over.

The mermaid appeared to be only in her teens compare to the young adults around her, however she was already blooming beautifully into adulthood. She had light brown hair that was tied back into a high ponytail with pearls threaded with sea grass, and also had a wild curl that was dangling down at the side of her head. Her tail was green like Lovino's, but lighter in shade, but faded to a red at the tip, where white fins were connected. White shells were also the only thing she was wearing at her top, in the form of a bra.

Before Felicia could respond to Lovino, Francis and Antonio immediately cooed upon the sight of her, showering her with compliments and asking her how her day was. Of course, because she was a friendly soul most of the time, she responded accordingly to them.

"_Hola_, Felicia!"

"O-oh! _Ciao_, Antonio!"

"How are you today, _mi hermosa?_"

"Doing really well, thank you."

"_Bonjour_, Felicia. Ahhh, you are becoming even more beautiful each day! So, so beautiful…"

"Oh! _Grazie_, Francis. _Grazie_."

During this time, Emma was gazing in Antonio's direction, and solely onto him. Her grass green eyes partook a saddened tone, and her smile disappeared from her face, usually cheerful demeanour deteriorating upon seeing the red-tailed merman talk more animatedly to Felicia. The older mermaid felt very small at that moment, and had the sudden impulse to shrink back to a coral reef and just leave. Something seized her insides and squeezed harshly, making her feel sick.

Gilbert had immediately smiled upon catching sight of Lovino's little sister, but of course, before he could swim forward and dazzle her with his awesomeness, Francis and Antonio _had _to swim up to her first and shower her constantly with their smooth words, leaving him left out. The albino merman snorted, his ruby orbs narrowed dangerously as he felt a beast akin to ten sharks awaken inside of him the more he watched his best friends continue to compliment and talk to the little mermaid. It snarled and roared angrily for their blood, thrashing its mighty head around

Lovino himself swam forward and roughly shoved both Francis and Antonio away from his younger sister. Ignoring their whining and pouting in his direction (Antonio could've sworn that he almost tripped over his own tail from the force that Lovino mustered in pushing him away from his sister), the young merman asked, "What, Felicia? What the hell is it? Is there something wrong?"

The mermaid then immediately brightened upon seeing her brother come to her face and spoke, "No, nothing's wrong! Well, it's just that _papá _wants you to come back to the palace now."

"_Now_? Seriously?" Lovino crossed his arms over his chest. "The moon's not even up! What the hell does he want with me?"

"He wants to discuss things with you about the party tomorrow."

"And why the hell is that?"

"Because he wants you to be in charge of the party tomorrow."

"Wait, what? _Me_?!" Lovino asked incredulously, not believing he heard her correctly. "He wants _me_ to run it? Why can't he do it himself?! Parties aren't my thing! No way! What if it sucks shit!"

"Well, I expect it'd be because you're going to be taking over him soon," responded Felicia gently, seeing the panic present in her older brother's demeanour upon learning that he had some unexpected responsibilities thrust onto him at the last second. "It _won't _suck, _fratello_. It'll be a great party!"

Seeing that her brother was now rubbing at the back of his head and grumbling about being a screw up, the mermaid sighed then brought her delicate hands forward,now taking her brother's hands in hers. "You and I both know that _papá _can't look after the kingdom forever," she said, fixing her warm, light brown eyes into Lovino's amber ones. "Someday, it'll be you."

Lovino bit his bottom lip as he gazed down at his and his sister's hands, noticing the stark contrast of skin tone – he was much darker in complexion to her. He also knew that it wasn't just his skin colour that was darker, but what lay underneath, too.

He was confident that he was _not _ready; in fact, he believed he was far from it! He lacked responsibility and he threw a tantrum whenever things didn't go his way. He was bad-tempered, foul-mouthed, and was prone to violence…

He was far from ready to be in charge of a party, let alone a kingdom.

"_Fratello_?" Felicia asked, tilting her head as she continuously gazed up at her older brother. When he didn't respond, the young mermaid simply tugged him in the direction from where she came from. "Come on, let's talk about it more at home…" she nodded at her brother's friends' direction. "_Ciao_, guys. We'll see you later."

"See you, Felicia!" Gilbert spoke up quickly before Francis and Antonio could _just _open their mouths. "See you at the party!"

The young mermaid simply nodded in the albino's direction as she swam away with her distressed older brother. Upon seeing her nod in his way, the albino felt something flutter from inside of him, and the beast that was snarling and thrashing around at first, immediately calmed down, and gave a sniff, as well as a soft noise of content.

Needless to say, things were much quieter with Lovino gone since he would usually curse and swear at them all for their source of conduct. Without him, though, it seemed rather pointless to be loud and raucous, so they considerably became more composed amongst themselves, thought they were still chatting swiftly.

Lovino's departure and Felicia's words caused a topic of discussion to come to surface amongst the older merpeople. Antonio himself was quite worried for his younger friend's well being - Lovino never had the strongest bout of confidence in regards to himself, no matter how much he may lead you to believe that. The red-tailed merman knew that a great amount of pressure was hoisted on Lovino's shoulders since he was the eldest son, and expected to continue a powerful legacy that had already thrived for generations.

Antonio felt his worries eventually melt away, though.

Because despite how Lovino viewed himself, and how much he degraded himself, his closest friends, ever so loyal, knew that he was perfectly capable of running a party, and a kingdom when the day came.

That, Antonio was one hundred percent certain of.

* * *

Quan heaved a heavy sigh as he discarded his straw hat and ran a hand through his black tresses.

The day of the boat party had come too quickly, and before the Vietnamese knew it, he wasn't in the comfort of his warm blankets and soft pillow anymore, and was close to the controls of the ship, commandeering.

He gazed out to see that people were beginning to board the vessel and honestly, he felt knots gather and tighten in his stomach upon viewing a myriad of familiar faces.

"Is everything alright down here, Mr Quan?" a feminine voice with a high, sophisticated air questioned.

Quan nodded, unsurprised at seeing an Austrian woman wearing a beautiful lavender dress with a paler purple bolero over it with finely intricate edelweiss engraved as a pattern. A beauty mark on the opposite side of her mouth, and a piece of jewellery holding back part of her lustrous, dark brown locks. A single ahoge was sticking up as well. "Everything is going in order, Miss Rosaliese," he responded politely. "No need to fear."

Rosaliese nodded, "Charming. All the guests have arrived. You may now set sail."

Quan nodded and ignited the boat to life, the engine springing alive as the boat gave a slight cough from its propeller before humming merrily. The Vietnamese man put the throttle in starting position and the engine to neutral on the drive selector.

"You are not going to join us?" Rosaliese questioned, arching an elegant eyebrow. "You do know that you are one of the prominent guests of my list, Mr Nguyen."

The Vietnamese man knew he had to tread carefully here; sure, he had a bit more than Rosaliese, but she was more influential and when she got offended, things turned ugly. Plus, that would be a big blow to his business if she stopped coming to him for boat renting. Licking his lips as she waited expectedly for an answer, the Vietnamese man was able to string some words together.

"Maybe later."

"I'm sure you can stop after we're a kilometre or so from the shore," responded Rosaliese, head raised even higher. "It won't hurt you to let loose."

Quan found that statement ironic; she herself was known for being rather uptight and too prim and proper for her own good. However, he simply shrugged and mumbled, "Yeah, fine…"

"Good."

The Vietnamese man simply rubbed his temples with one hand upon seeing her figure leave from his controlling compartment. As the boat continued smoothly sailing on the ocean to a rather nice view of the village and the cliffs, he stopped the boat and admired the nightly scenery in front of him. He was aware of what it was like at night, due to having a nice view from his room, but being part of it was better, in his opinion.

He rested a hand on his chin as he gazed out at the moon, which was in the shape of a crescent that night. The Vietnamese man felt an odd sense of nostalgia run through his body as he felt his eyes lazily flicker upon the gorgeous sight.

The moon's rays were glinting softly upon the sea's calm surface as it continued to shine in its lustrous glory in the dark sky. The beautiful light reflecting upon the ocean's surface provided a type of ethereal beauty that the Vietnamese man knew no piece of art could ever capture compared to the naked eye and memory.

Pretty soon, his own thoughts were interrupted upon hearing the happy chatter and the faint sounds of music from above on deck. The Vietnamese man arched an eyebrow as his eyes squinted slightly, head slightly tilted to an angle so he could see the set of stairs from the corners of his eyes.

It _did _sound nice.

However, Quan wasn't inclined to come out to the deck; parties seriously weren't his thing. He wasn't great with crowds, and honestly, he felt uncomfortably and awkward whenever he was amongst a sea of people where everyone's body heat radiated close to each other.

But then again…

Licking his lips, Quan straightened his posture as he this time turned his head on a better angle to look at the set of stairs. Should he or should he not? It wasn't like his character to actually immerse and include himself in a party. He was too rigid and socially awkward for that. Plus, despite slowly treading on the path of recovery, he didn't want to offend or stir questions amongst everyone.

He didn't like it whenever people stared at or pointed at him.

However, he remembered that everyone on the boat was someone he knew; they were all citizens from the same town he lived in. He knew them for a number of years, and he knew that though they would most definitely discuss about his condition and current withdrawal behind his back or in private, he knew that they wouldn't purposely try to hurt or offend him in any way.

'_Not like…'_

Pretty soon, Quan was surprised to find himself already taking a few steps towards the set of stairs. He blinked and scratched his head, still having that mental debate tossed back and forth in his mind.

Meanwhile, on the deck, the guests were enjoying themselves. Rosaliese had hired a small group of musicians to come and play. From what people have heard, they were from the Baltic countries. Six of them came, three girls, and three young men, each playing a lovely classical instrument, save for the Lithuanian man who had a guitar with him.

During this time, some of the guests were eating already with some of the dishes already out on a table lower than the edge so the food wouldn't fall off. Others were sitting around, just calmly chatting, while the more younger ones were dancing at the centre of the deck in either fast speeds or a slower pace depending on what was being played. Of course, the Baltic musicians complied with requests, which was a definite plus.

Mei was sitting with Ms Honda and Elizaveta, the sisterly yet tough Hungarian doctor who ran the only medicinal clinic in town. Right now, the ladies were having a conversation as they watched people dance.

Right now, Mr Sadik Adnan, the middle-aged Turkish man who owned one of the café's in town, was dancing around with Mathias, who was already red-faced and rather tipsy. The Dane was laughing uproariously as he linked arms with the Turk and began doing a dosey doe with him.

Though she joined with everyone else's laughter at seeing the two men engage in such a childish dance, Mei couldn't help but get distracted as she continuously looked in direction to where the cabin was, where the controls compartment lay underneath a door and a set of stairs.

"Are you alright, Mei-san?" Ms Honda asked, voice lined with worry.

"Huh?" Mei shook her head. "O-oh! Yeah! Yeah! I'm fine! Don't worry!"

"You want your cousin to come out, do you?" Elizaveta asked, giving a sad smile. Seeing her nod, the Hungarian woman nodded, "I do, too, honestly. It's been a _very _long time since he came to social gatherings. I think a party would do him good."

"I do, too," agreed Mei. "He's already coming out of his shell."

"Really?" here, Ms Honda looked pleasantly surprised. "He is? That's wonderful!"

"He was playing his _đàn nhị__," _Mei smiled warmly, fond of the memory. "And then he played with Yong Soo, Emil and me in the ocean, and he even spoke more during dinner last night!"

"Well, if he continues on like that, he'll get over it altogether in no time at all!" Elizaveta said, relieved at hearing that the Vietnamese man was okay. Honestly, she was quite worried upon seeing how severely affected he was. To say that she was not alarmed would be a lie – he was usually so calm and composed, that this came as a big shock, and seeing his entire being fall apart from that…

On many occasions, she had insisted upon seeing him just to see if might have developed something wrong, however the damage was more emotional, thank goodness. Most people who went through what he went through would go through bouts of either purposely starving themselves or binging and excessively crying at random times, as well as having the bleak outlook of life being meaningless.

Quan didn't starve himself, nor did he binge. He never cried – in fact, everyone thought that he was incapable of doing so. However, the last symptom confirmed that there was a great amount of damage that took place on his usually strong and stubborn being.

"I am glad he will get over it," Ms Honda spoke up. "Because someone like him should not have to brood or care about somebody like-"

She stopped talking when the door softly opened. Her soft brown eyes widened, blinking from behind natural lashes as Mei and Elizaveta turned their own heads around to see what had captured her attention and ceased her to speak.

"Quan-kun…?"

* * *

_God, I have to go and do the next chapter now because that one is the one that I think I will be fond of - interaction in that (at least on Antonio's part)! 8D you can guess why or what happens, but I won't confirm it unless you're correct (sorry!). XD_

_[Character/s Introduced]:  
Felicia [Nyo!Italy]  
Rosaliese [Nyo!Austria]  
Mathias [Denmark]  
__Mr Sadik Adnan [Turkey]  
Elizaveta [Hungary]_

_There'll be more expansion in the next chapter, as well as some more characters maybe. I have a feeling the next chapter will be long as well. ;) however, it'll be typed up a little later, but definitely some time this week. :)_

_Well, thoughts and opinions? It really does make me smile whenever I read a review from you. =^^=_

_Anyway, either way, I hope you have a lovely day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	5. Zeus, Poseidon, and Aphrodite's Touch

_Hello all, HetaWriter/HetaReader here, apologizing for not updating for...a longer time than I wanted... . Well, I hope this longer chapter makes up for my tardiness! :)_

_A BIG thanks goes to **pein21 **for the fave; to **Jayfeather24**, **amichalap **and **xxBlueSariaXx **for the fave AND the follow. And finally to **Madam Platypus**, **H-Tagi **and to **Jayfeather24 **and **xxBlueSariaXx **(again for both) for the reviews! :D_

**_Madam Platypus:_**_ I really thank you just for leaving behind what you think on my stories. :D really, that means quite a lot to me. :)_

**_Jayfeather24: _**_Thank you very much! I shall continue onward! (Sorry again for the late update...TTnTT)_

**_H-Tagi:_**_ Greetings to you again! :D ouch, well don't worry - that happens to me, too, even when I _want _to write a new chapter...TTwTT yes, well I haven't seen any story so far with Nyo!Vietnam as the main character, which is a shame, really - he seems like an interesting character despite Himaruya not expanding _too _much on the Nyotalia characters. Actually, I heard that Dyesebel was adapted into a series, but I haven't seen it...^^' the only one I'm familiar of was a movie, but even then, it was a bit old...however, I quite enjoyed it, really. :) (don't worry - I'm not fully aware of series/dramas in Filipino/Tagalog channels, either...XD). I thank you for that - I really was trying to aim for two different tones since Antonio and Quan are very different from each other (Toni being cheerful, merry and more affectionate while Quan is more closed, reserved and quiet). Thank you again! And the bets of fortune to you, too in your exams, assignments, school/college and life! :D_

**_xxBlueSariaXx:_**_ Hehe...just continue reading. ;) originally, it _had _to do something with Elizaveta, but I decided to tweak some aspects here and there, and leave it up to interpretation. However, that part won't be here yet, but in a later chapter. I'm actually starting to gain a soft spot and deep liking for PruIta - particularly Prussia x Nyo!Italy. XD thank you again! :D_

_And cue scene!_

* * *

Heads immediately either turned or looked up upon seeing the door to the boat's interior creak open. People immediately stopped from their chatter to gaze in great interest and surprise.

Quan immediately tensed upon the sudden silence that befell the once cheerful atmosphere, and was seriously considering making up some sort of liable excuse to retreat back into the boat and to the controls, when there was a loud, high-pitched bark. The Vietnamese man stared down at the segment where the life jackets were kept, and at once, grew surprised when a little ball of fluff had shot out from underneath it.

Funny enough, he was almost knocked over when a little bark broke the tense air.

"P-Pochi-kun!" Mei squeaked in surprise. "How did you get on Quan-kun's boat?"

Indeed, much to Quan's utter shock, he saw that the family dog was on his boat. How and why? He honestly did not know, nor could he fathom any possibilities for such. However, upon Pochi's sudden revelation, the passengers onboard seemed to be at ease.

Then another ball of fluff emerged from underneath.

A large Siberian Forest cat with dark fur, with some white around its neck happily padded its way over to the Vietnamese man, and rubbed itself on his leg. It gave a strange, soft meow, still looking rather content.

"Come on, Deaky~!" whined Mathias as he swung around a bottle of beer in one hand and swaying around on Mr Adnan's arm on the other. "Let's dance some more…"

Sadik simply stared at the Danish man with a serious expression, "Mathias…you're _really _drunk."

"Am not~!" the Dane protested as he pouted, puffing his now reddened cheeks out. "I'm perfectly fine!"

"No, you are not."

"Am too!"

However, there was a loud _'thump'_ once Mathias tried to take a step forward on his own, falling face down onto the deck. The musicians looked really shocked upon the Dane's blunder, but Rosaliese simply rolled her eyes and urged them to continue playing. Seeing that the other townsfolk were more shocked upon seeing the Asian man emerge from the ship's interior than a drunken Dane, the Baltic musicians played on.

Quan could only inwardly sighed in relief when he heard the music waltz and flutter around him again. Things going back to normal. The Vietnamese man lowered himself to his haunches and gently stroked the heads of the little Shiba Inu and the large Siberian Forest cat, scratching fondly at the base of their ears running his fingers through their fur. The tiny tail of the dog was wagging in a similarly fond manner in return with the display of affection that the master didn't usually show. The cat meanwhile rubbed against his hand and gave its strange little meow, "_Da~_."

Master never came outside as much, after all…

"Quan-kun."

Said Vietnamese man looked up slowly and was met with the curious brown eyes of Mei, "Hmm?"

Undoubtedly, Mei was delightedly surprised at seeing her older cousin finally come outside, and hoped that he would stay there with them. It was a clear night tonight, and Quan needed to let himself loose and have some fun, too; it would be a great step in regards to treading on his path to recovery.

"How are thing going inside?" she asked. She knew she had to be careful; though he was very much to the point himself, being _too _blunt can cause him to become nervous despite how much he tried to hide that.

It was good to ask about how he was before you can press any questions on him. That, she, Kasem and Yong Soo knew perfectly.

"Everything is fine," responded Quan. He himself was aware of what Mei was doing, and to be honest, he was glad. It was a great opportunity for him to collect his composure and to relax some more. "Fine weather we should be experiencing," he continued showering the animals with more petting and patting. He chuckled to himself softly, "Pochi…how on earth did you get on my boat? You…" he glanced pointedly at the large-nosed cat, whose violet eyes sparkled innocently. "I can understand."

"Yeah," agreed Mei with a nod. "The TV also mentioned that!" noticing that he still seemed reluctant to speak or get up from petting the two animals, the Taiwanese girl placed her hands behind her back and swayed her body slightly. "So…"

"Yes?" Quan questioned, not glancing up, but signifying that he was listening to her.

"Dance with me!"

Here, the Vietnamese man's head suddenly snapped up in shock. His golden eyes widened, "E-excuse me…?!"

"_Dance_ with me," repeated Mei, now more determined. Seeing the Taiwanese girl with such a fiery expression on her face made shivers run down Quan's spine. "I want to dance with you!"

"Erm…" Quan honestly did not know what to say here. The two animals had gazed back and forth between him and his younger cousin, and really, it felt as if he was the main focus. The Vietnamese man felt the pressure build a little bit into his being, but tried to respond as calmly as he could muster, "You know I'm not much of a dancer…"

"So?" Mei shrugged. "I don't care; I just want to dance with you."

Quan sighed, "Why don't you just dance with Kasem or Yong Soo? They're far better at it than I am…"

"I already danced with Kasem before," counteracted Mei. "And Yong Soo's busy, anyway." She nodded in direction to the Korean boy who was showing some of his fancy moves to a group of girls that went to their high school. They giggled as he rolled his body and made swift motions with his hands.

"I can vouch for Mei, there, Quan," Kasem spoke up as he chose to come over. He went on his own haunches to get to the Vietnamese man's level and smiled gently, "We had a lovely time, ana~. You should at least give it a try again."

"I…" Quan heaved a sigh after gazing back and forth at his two cousins. Shaking his head, he scratched his head, "I suppose a dance wouldn't hurt…" he slowly stood up and straightened his posture. He then gave a bow to his now happy cousin as he offered his hand, "May I?"

Mei giggled, almost bursting from absolute happiness. "You may!" she took hold of his hand and immediately brought him to the central part of the deck. Here, she took hold of his other hand and immediately started dancing with him; simply joining hands together as they twirled around the deck.

The bystanders couldn't help but feel the smiles coming across their faces as they watched the two Asians dance. Quan's face was dusted with a slight hue of scarlet, however the embarrassment and timidity quickly melted away at seeing the laughing, delightful face of his younger cousin. The glow in her eyes a truly lovely sight to behold.

And soon, he found himself just moving around; his body loosened by itself and the music was swinging around in the air in a string jazz. He himself felt the corners of his lips twitch upward as he then released one hand and raised the other, which still connected the pair of them. Mei squealed and giggled in delight when she immediately spun underneath it; just like how they did in those ballroom dance shows.

"It is nice to see Quan do this," Elizaveta said with a gentle sigh. "He really _is _coming back out. I'm so glad…"

"Same here, ana~" Kasem panted as he chose to sit with the two women. He ran a hand through his dark, spiky locks while Pochi ran over to the two dancing Asians on the deck. The Thai man then felt something rub against his leg, and upon looking down, saw the big, fluffy cat, Pochi's friend, affectionately rubbing his head on his leg. Kasem laughed, "I still wonder how Pochi and you managed to even get on Quan's boat…"

"I don't think we'll _ever _know," laughed Elizaveta as she leaned down and fondly scratched the base of the cat's ears. "How _did _you get here, Ivan?"

"You've always had a soft spot for Quan," agreed Kasem as he smiled warmly. "You keep popping up into our house, ana~"

"_Da_," the cat mewed. It was an odd sound at first; it almost sounded as if the cat was speaking Russian. However, it took a little while getting used to upon discovering that that was simply how Ivan the cat meowed. The mew was soft and on the _slightly _higher pitch, however it actually fitted with a large ball of fluff like Ivan.

"Not just yours, though, Kasem," remarked Elizaveta. "He comes by to mine as well! And I saw Sadik feed him some leftovers before, too. Quite the traveller, are you, Ivan?" she then turned to Ms Honda. "Don't you agree, Sakura?"

However, the Japanese woman wasn't paying attention to Kasem, Elizaveta, or the cat.

Instead, she was watching her student dancing with her older cousin.

The man who was usually shy, and who chose to shut himself away from the one time exposing himself to someone he thought he could trust, but ultimately, threw it away in the trash.

Suddenly, the musical piece came to a close on a major note, concluding the merriness of the dance. Mei laughed heartily after striking a heavily exaggerated pose, and even Quan gave a slight chuckle from the experience. Then soon after, a more country tone was taken in by the violin, who was trying to re-enact a fiddle.

The sounds of the background however soon blurred and eventually faded away as was everything else that was in the background of Ms Sakura Honda's line of sight. Her warm, brown eyes were only fixed on one thing only.

Seeing his lips continue to curve more and more upward as the music and the dances continued. How the flame that burned in his honey-gold orbs, first small, were progressively growing higher and higher until they were much more distinguishable balls of fire. His whole slender being immediately brought to life as he moved more and more in time with the tempo and beat.

It was as if he was becoming alive again. From a cold machine that he had turned into, to the man that he was.

Her body soon began to work without her own awareness. She was taking soft steps forward to the two cousins, her hands clasped together at her front. And soon, she was standing before them as another cheery musical piece was brought to a finale.

"Oh, Ms Honda!" Mei exclaimed, looking surprised. "What's up?"

"Is there something wrong, Ms Honda?" questioned Quan calmly.

"Oh no, nothing is wrong," Sakura shook her head. "I was just wondering; would it be alright if I could cut in, please?"

"Oh!" Mei beamed. "Of course!" she released her hold on her cousin's hands, curtsied (to which Quan had responded with an exaggerated, sweeping bow), and pranced over to Kasem and Elizaveta to shower Ivan with affection, too. Clearly she was in high spirits.

"May I have this dance, Quan-san?" Ms Honda inquired with a gentle curtsy, remembering that women did so out in the west.

Quan simply nodded back as he bowed in response; this one however wasn't hyperbolic, but much more done in an elegant sweep. "I would be honoured," he responded as he offered his hand.

Taking it, Sakura was gently brought closer to his being until there was just a reasonable amount of small space between them. The Japanese woman however felt her pale cheeks grow pink as her face grew aflame. She looked up at him as she placed one of her hands gingerly on his collarbone.

Quan arched an eyebrow and readjusted her hand; placing it on his shoulder. "I'm pretty sure the woman places her hand there, and not on my clavicle," he stated.

Sakura flushed, "_Gomenasai_…after all these years, I am still not used to Western culture…"

The Vietnamese man gave a little chuckle that vibrated in his throat as he looked down at the Japanese woman in amusement, "Don't worry. Dancing isn't a huge part of our lives."

"Indeed, it isn't," agreed the Japanese woman as the music began.

In a calm, tender andante pace, the cello played. Soon after, a violin was playing chromatics and a few flats as it danced and floated by on a beautiful vibrato. The guitar was soon coming in with rapid picks up and down with the fingers on it expertly dancing on its frets and strings.

Soon, Quan took a step forward, prompting Sakura to take a step back in correspondence. However, the Japanese woman didn't even look down at her feet in worry of stepping on his feet like her Vietnamese partner was doing at the moment. No, Sakura just continued gazing at his face, taking note of how similar yet different it looked like during their high school days.

His cheekbones were much higher and more prominent; he was quite thin to begin with, but there was a slight amount of puppy fat before, which prompted people to pinch him there (much to his dismay). His nose wasn't as flat, and his lips weren't fat, but they were full. His skin was slightly pale from boarding himself in his own home, but it wasn't to the point that he was sickly. His arms were no longer stick-like and gangly – they were strong and firm. Though his frame was still reasonably lanky, he was filling out more – his shirts used to hang on him loosely with more space, but now it was a fine fit.

Sakura knew what had happened – she was quite close to him, after all. Though to be honest, she thought it was dumb luck or a simple coincidence that she even got to see him again after their days shared in high school. However, to say that she _wasn't _excited upon learning that he was living in the same town she was teaching and moving into was an understatement. Despite how calm, conservative and meek she appeared, the feelings bubbled brightly inside of her upon seeing him again.

"That loved one…the one that is perfect for you," murmured Sakura softly. "He or she is out there somewhere; waiting for you…"

Quan's head snapped back up. His eyes widened slightly, not sure if he heard her right. "I beg your pardon?" he asked quietly.

Sakura shook her head, "Never mind. It's fine."

The Vietnamese man heaved a sigh, "You do know that there's no point in denying something you've said to me – I _do _listen closely. I just wasn't sure if I heard you correctly, that's all…"

The Japanese woman smiled weakly, "I know, but it is worth a try, right? I was simply saying that one day…your soul mate…they'll come to you one day."

He didn't say a word. Instead he gently shut his eyes as he gave a small nod, "If you say so…" he grumbled.

It seemed that though he was definitely on the path of recovery, he lost faith in that one topic altogether.

* * *

Antonio heaved a sigh as he swam out of the palace, immensely disappointed.

Really, though the crustacean band was playing and even some of the animals were dancing around in the palace along with the merfolk of King Romulus' domain, the red-tailed merman's own friends weren't around him.

To say that Lovino was busy was an understatement. The poor prince was utterly _loaded _with work and tasks – if it weren't surveying the guests, it would be managing the food from the palace's cook, and also checking in with the guards just in case any unwanted visitors came.

Yes, believe it or not, those _did _exist.

Antonio had tried to keep up with Lovino, but the younger merman was always a very swift swimmer. And whenever the red-tailed merman tried striking a conversation with him, Lovino always sharply cut him off and solely laid his focus on his tasks.

Hanging out with Francis was a no-brainer. The blonde merman would chase the tails of the young, single mermaids and charm them to fits of laughter and giddy giggling gaggles. Besides, Antonio wasn't into the mermaids; no matter how many times and how much they threw themselves at him.

Gilbert had seemed to disappear altogether. Antonio was swimming around the palace in hopes of spotting a crop of messy white hair, and a pair of piercing crimson eyes, as well as maybe hearing a raspy, higher pitched cackle of _'Kesesese!'_ but to no avail.

Speaking of which, Felicia was nowhere in sight, either. However, Antonio naturally assumed that the young princess was simply assisting her older brother in his stacks and stacks of tasks to ensure that everyone was having a lovely time at the party and were ultimately satisfied.

Emma herself was actually in the palace's kitchens helping Lovino with the refreshments. She and Antonio were able to converse a few times, but she was always brought back to work, and the poor red-tailed merman was left alone.

So, that was why Antonio left the cheerful, catcalling atmosphere of the welcoming castle and swam out into the calm, silent expanses of the sea. Gazing upward, the red-tailed merman could make out _very _pale rays from the moon just seeping through the salty surface of the ocean.

But that was when he heard a _very _faint booming noise and a great explosion of hazy colour was made out in the darkened sky.

Tilting his head, Antonio could see more of those explosions of colour form in the black sky as there were more explosions that accompanied with it. A smile forming on his face as his curiosity began to spark to light, Antonio swam to the surface, his body rippling along with the soft, streamlined waves.

When he surfaced, he was amazed at seeing a lot of bright, colourful lights in the form of sea anemone spreading out and disappearing in the night sky. The red-tailed merman's emerald hues shone with awe as he could hear the booming again, resulting in the magnificent blooming shapes of colour and sparks in the sky.

Looking to where it was coming from, Antonio could see a boat in the distance. His curiosity peaked even more, he quietly swam closer and closer – ignoring the blatant warning bells that were ringing in the back of his head; overrun by his curiosity.

He could hear laughter and excited chatter on the boat as well as some beautiful music. However, this music was different to the haunting tone and melody that was played by the human male from before.

A little peeping space in the form of a side hole at the ship where an emergency anchor would be placed out or any means of transporting rope through to a lifeboat, Antonio was able to climb on a little part of the boat and peep through the hole, immediately brightening at the sight before him.

There was a great group of humans having their own party on this ship – gracefully dancing and moving about on their lithe, elegant legs. Some were even playing instruments as well, while others were sitting down or leaning back and engaged in pleasant, idle conversation.

Antonio could see a little ball of fluff yapping in a rather rough, yet high-pitched little bark. What kind of an animal was that? The red-tailed merman knew not, but it looked really cute, and Antonio had the temptation of wanting to pat it just to see how its body felt like.

Suddenly, there was a sniffing noise, and Antonio was met with a rather prominent nose and dark hair.

"_Da_?"

Antonio gave a squeak, which was fortunately drowned out by the music and the merrymaking of the humans on board the boat.

The animal gazing back at him had very cold violet eyes on its large, fluffy mane of a face. However, after gazing closely at the merman, the inferno flickered inside the animal's face and it sat on its haunches, looking much calmer as it flicked one of its ears. It then tilted its head, looking to be in a happier mood.

"_Da_~"

"What are you doing over there, Ivan?"

Antonio immediately ducked when he could hear the footsteps coming towards him. His heart rapidly beating his in chest as he licked his lips in anticipation. Hearing that sound of _"Da~!" _again as well as plodding footsteps disappearing, Antonio swallowed a lump in his throat as his heartbeat settled down to normal pace again. He cautiously peered up again to see what was going on.

It was him.

That human male from before that played that enchanting, emotional song.

Antonio's gaze fixed solely onto the human, everything else around him melting away. The human's song, the one that continued to haunt Antonio's thoughts, continued to play from within his mind as the human leaned down and scratched the fluffy, big-nosed anima's ears. The smaller ball of fluff was barking with its tail wagging happily.

The human's face was pulled into a soft, small smile as he rubbed and petted the two animals fondly. His eyes, resembling the colour to that of a healthy goldfish, were creasing as well in response to the smile as they burned with a silent, yet gentle little sliver of light.

Antonio was intrigued at how similar humans looked to merpeople, yet so different. The human male had some appearances that were similar to Kiku – the slanting eyes, the dark hair and the slender build, however that human had so many differences to Kiku – sharper face, more well-defined build that balanced with the slenderness, a much stronger disposition despite how soft and silent he was acting…

And all that time, Antonio couldn't help but feel a smile cross over on his own face; though this one was accompanied with a sudden fluttering that danced in his heart the more he gazed at the male human. It soon became accompanied by knots that twisted and turned right in the pits of his stomach, as well as the need to not gaze at him, too – as if he wasn't worthy to gaze upon someone with a unique exquisiteness as this.

The hand that was patting and stroking the heads and faces of those animals…Antonio then began to have strange thoughts where he himself was in the places of those animals instead.

Having that large hand with those lean fingers stroking affectionately at his cheek and cupping his face. Brushing at his mocha-coloured locks while contemplating him with those thoughtful, golden eyes. Soon, he was brought closer and closer…

"_Antoine_~! Oh, _Antoine_~!"

"Toni! Where you at, man?"

Getting slapped back into reality from his dream-like state, Antonio whipped his head around and looked to see that Francis and Gilbert were swimming towards him. The red-tailed merman pressed a finger to his lips as he whispered urgently, "Shhh! _Mi amigos_, they'll hear you!"

Here, Francis sighed heavily, "Your love and interest for humans is still as prominent as ever, _mon ami_." The blonde merman then joined him, though it was _a little _bit of a difficult task, since the space for peeping wasn't really that large. "So…what are we looking at, then?" questioned Francis.

Antonio murmured, "I've never been this close to a human before…" a soft smile formed upon the red-tailed merman's face as he rested his chin on both his arms as he sighed, "_Él es muy guapo_…isn't he?"

Gilbert then chose to try and squeeze his way up to peer at what his best friends were looking at; not wanting to be left out. The albino merman narrowed his eyes, his stare fixing onto the big-nosed animal from before. Gilbert wrinkled his nose, "That thing? _Mein Gott_,you're kidding me, right Toni? It's all fat and it has a big nose!"

Antonio chuckled, "No, no, not that one." He then pointed at the human who was petting them affectionately. "_That _one," murmured the brunette merman.

Francis arched an eyebrow as he rubbed his stubbled chin. The blonde merman nodded, "_Oui, _I agree with you there. For a human with those odd limbs, he is very…dare I say? Attractive in terms of physical appearance."

"He looks like Kiku to me," Gilbert remarked with a shrug.

Antonio shook his head, "No, no again, _mi amigo_." Ignoring the scowl crossing his albino friend's face, the red-tailed merman continued, "His face is much sharper in a way, but there is also a tone of softness in regards to how it is finely shaped. So much like his eyes…those eyes…"

Francis glanced worriedly at his brunette friend, who seemed to have drifted off to another world just by simply staring at the male human. And to the boot, with a rather…dare he think it? _Struck _expression.

"Sakura said that my soul mate was to come to me one day…" the human murmured. Antonio blinked and shifted slightly in his position to listen more closely. The voice of the human was lower in pitch and tone to his own, but it was smooth, deep and quite soothing to the ears – a perfect fit to his physical appearance and quiet, serious and calm demeanour. "That it would just simply…hit me when I see him or her." He gave a slight chuckle, "But who am I kidding?"

The chuckle sent a pleasurable shiver down Antonio's spine, and for a moment, his head was in a slight spin. He blinked as the human continued, "The only way for me to know whether or not if someone was my soul mate or not, is if something crazy were to happen to me at that very moment if they are around."

"_Da_?"

"What do I mean by that? Well…say that my soul were here, something bizarre would have to happen to me by now. For example, getting struck by lightning."

No sooner had the words tumbled out from his mouth, when a great boom that shook the very land and even the seas bellowed out loud.

"Damn, looks like a storm's coming up," Gilbert sighed as he dropped back into the ocean with a little plop. "Those things are always so freaking annoying…"

"_Oui_, that they are," agreed Francis. He lightly shook Antonio's shoulder, "Come on, _Antoine_, we better get going."

Antonio could immediately see the panic and shock rising to the humans' faces, and honestly, it made him worried. All the more so when he saw that particular male human's face twisted into an expression that was a mixture of astonishment and fear. However, he dropped back into the ocean and began swimming with his friends before the storm could have its full effect.

The clouds were suddenly coming in and were a fierce, angry shade of grey. Lightning blared and flashed aggressively as if Zeus himself had a vendetta. The waves were becoming far more unfriendly, and it seemed that even Poseidon had joined his brother in this raging battle.

The passengers on board were screaming and crying out in alarm while the male human that Antonio had kept his eyes on was shouting commands and instructions at everyone, voice clear and authoritative, though the red-tailed merman could clearly make out a very _tiny _bit of shakiness from underneath.

The winds were growing in speed, racing against each other in a hurried rush as the lightning and thunder engaged in a great clash, striking anything that tried to make itself higher than they were.

Antonio however stopped as Francis and Gilbert continued swimming. He stared at the ship's bottom as the muffled explosions and booming continued to rattle the very core of everything in its path. He hesitated.

"Toni, something up?" Gilbert called, realizing that one of his best friends wasn't coming along.

"_Antoine_?" Francis inquired gently yet worriedly. "_Antoine_, what's wrong?"

Antonio didn't respond.

Instead, he swam quickly back to the surface, much to the shock of both of his best friends as they yelled after him to come back.

How had things gone so wrong so quickly, was a mystery to everyone on the boat.

First, it began so brightly in celebration of Rosaliese's birthday (her twenty-first, no less) – eating some delicious bites every so often while dancing to the lovely arias of string music, as well as conducting one's self in merry talk to catch up from every day work and life. Then the captain himself came outside to join with his passengers' happiness, and were amazed to see that he himself was releasing his cold hold. Next, Jang Li Hua from the tea house had brought some of her own firecrackers and fireworks to wrap up the celebration; she even let some of the children light them up while under her own supervision.

Then everything immediately plummeted down as soon as the freak storm happened.

Quan took charge straight away – shouting orders at everyone in a voice that was still miraculously calm, yet firm. He had gone inside to try and commandeer the ship the best that he could do.

For a moment, it looked like everyone would just endure the storm's anger and be able to go back home. To be able to forget that this one bleak outlook had ever happened.

"Hang in there! We got it!" Mr Adnan roared as he was clinging tightly both onto a rope that held the mast, and a drunken Mathias. "Just a little more!"

"Hey, hey, lookie over there, Deaky!" Mathias chortled madly in a woozy manner as he pointed up at the sky. "I can see angry faces in the clouds! Oooh, they look _really _pissed off! You mad up there?"

"Shut up, Mathias!" snapped Mr Adnan. "This ain't the time!"

Sakura herself was huddling with the children, who were now cowering in fear, some even crying at the storm. The other women were also down there, equally worried about the sudden weather change. Mei was trying to help Sakura the best she could, along with a nervous looking Rosaliese and Jang Li Hua.

Certain that the women and children would be safe inside, Quan quickly ran outside to check on everyone else to see if they were able to maintain the ship's direction by controlling the single mast; to possibly manipulate the harsh winds in order to get back to shore safely.

However, that was when disaster struck.

Upon catching sight of Emil and Yong Soo struggling, Quan was about to make his way over to them to help…

…but only taking a few steps forward, a great surge of lightning suddenly bolted right from the sky, and onto the mast, causing everyone who was trying to maintain their hold on it to suddenly let go in gasping shock.

And it immediately, erupted into flames after emitting a few sparks, slowly, yet dangerously eating away at it.

Quan's eyes widened in horror as he instantly called, "Get the life jackets! The inflatable rafts! We need to get out of here and, _quick_!"

The men and Elizaveta followed his orders and began taking out the life jackets and rafts from the compartments were Pochi and Ivan were hiding under before. Quan himself quickly ran back inside and ushered everyone outside. He helped some of the children put on their life jackets and was able to inflate one or two of the rafts and tossed them out to sea.

Soon, everyone was jumping overboard one-by-one as they made their way to the safety of the bobbing rafts. It then became only Mei, Yong Soo, Kasem, Sakura, a crying child, Elizaveta, Sadik, drunk Mathias, and Quan left on the burning ship. However, the raft was only able to fit eight people maximum on the one raft with only a few more kilograms allowed, but certainly not that of a ninth person.

"Kasem, take the raft and go!" Quan ordered hoarsely as the harsh rain splattered all over his exhausted figure.

The Thai man nodded, his glasses completely soaked as he threw the raft overboard with himself following soon after. Sadik was still clinging onto Mathias (who had completely passed out from drunkenness by then), with Elizaveta helping him. Seeing Quan signal for them to go, the three jumped off as well.

"Mei-Mei, go," the Vietnamese man said sharply.

Mei's eyes widened, "What about you?!"

"Go."

"Quan-kun!"

"I said _go_!" Quan shouted in a suddenly raised voice, obviously not wanting any more arguments or protests. Before Mei could open her mouth, Yong Soo grabbed hold of her and started dragging her overboard with him while Sakura kept the sobbing child close to her. She looked at Quan and saw that his face was contorted to a suddenly saddened expression.

Her brown eyes widened in shock at that look. His eyes were piqued with sorrow, but his lips curved upward into a small, but definite, smile.

She jumped off the boat with the child held close to her.

And with a little yapping sound, Pochi jumped off the ship, too, following suit, paddling against the rough waves to one of the rafts.

But Ivan was sitting on his haunches and staring up at Quan with those intense, violet eyes. The Vietnamese man stared down at the cat in response, and shook his head, pointing, "Ivan! Go! Jump!"

"_Da_…" the cat suddenly stood up and rubbed its head on the Vietnamese man's legs, brushing his bushy tail on his knees. He did not to want to leave him behind.

Quan heaved a sigh as he leaned down and scratched the base of the cat's ears; quite touched that an animal that wasn't even his seemed willing to stay behind on a perilous death-trap with him. However, he suddenly seized the great cat in his strong arms and after some yowling and screeching from the protesting feline, the Vietnamese man tossed the cat with all his might over the ship.

Kasem was able to grab the cat and heave it onto their raft, but that was when everyone looked up quickly to see what had happened to the man who owned the ship.

Quan was about to just jump off the ship and simply cling onto the side of one of the rafts when with a creaking sound, a sinister groan, and another stroke of mad lightning, the top part of the mast had been blasted right off, almost crushing him, had it not been for a lucky, fast reflex.

The Vietnamese man breathed heavily as the flames started choking him, the fumes burning his nostrils and his lungs as he panted. He saw that there was now a hole in the floorboard of his ship, and he could make out the compartment where the gas and fuel were located.

The flames continuously eating away at everything in sight from the mast's sail, the Vietnamese man slowly realized with horror at what was about to happen upon seeing the hole and the licks of fire progressively reaching out for it.

And what would happen as a result from it.

He clumsily clambered up the boat's slippery surface to the top end of its other side, _away _from the hole, and was about to dive into the ocean to hopefully swim to the rocking life rafts, when he could _just _hear the raging fire hiss dangerously close to the ship's interior.

And the heavy thumping of his own heart dangerously resounding in his head like a single drum.

The next thing he knew, his eardrums almost shattered from the deafening explosion, and there was a searing pain on his head soon after from getting struck (possibly from debris?). He was also flying off from the ship and for once, time was miraculously slowing down as he caught sight of everything.

The darkened atmosphere of the storm and the clouds – now painted with an underlying agony to it. The roaring, tumbling waves were curving strongly around – showing its true might. The blaring lightning when flashed, highlighted all of these sorrowful tones, and the rain…it appeared to more like a myriad of tears to him.

'_Is this…what they mean when your time is here? You appreciate what your eyes lie upon…before you…'_

And with that, eyes softly shutting down, as he could feel himself plunge into icy cold water; plummeting softly down to darkness.

* * *

Antonio was completely horrified at everything that had happened before his eyes – the humans panicking and forced to jump off their ship and into something that was still foreign to them, the misfortune that befell upon them. Their invention now reduced to nothing but scrap.

But the worst of all was that that human male that had touched him without even saying a word or even seeing him, had the worst fall to this.

The red-tailed merman was on edge, feeling his heart pick up the pace and his jaw dropped open when he saw that male human insist on going overboard last; he even prioritized the animals over himself – tossing one of them to the rafts.

Antonio grew even more alarmed when the boat suddenly burst into flames spontaneously. Swallowed and engulfed until it was split apart from pressure.

The male human's figure was somewhat caught in the terrifying blast – throwing him like a rag doll; causing him to fly from the sheer force of it all, and, with a great splash, submerged completely underneath the darkened and merciless waters, causing Antonio's heart to skip a beat.

But the red-tailed merman was able to gain his composure back, and with that, he took immediate action.

His usually cheerful face now furrowed down to a determined expression; his warm emerald eyes now blazing in sheer resolution, he plummeted back into the water and swam as fast as his body could upon catching sight of the figure who was blasted clean off from his own vessel.

Quan's eyes were gently shut, and his body was simply sinking slowly, his hair was softly floating upwards and his straw hat was making its way to the surface.

Antonio wrapped one of his arms around Quan's torso, keeping him in a firm, yet gentle hold. Paddling his golden-finned tail, he began swimming around and over the sinking pieces of debris as well as against the looping tides and the roaring waves that tried to hinder him. Once his hold on the human was sufficient, Antonio swam up to the surface so that the human in his arms was able to catch some breath as the red-tailed merman quickly glanced around the coldness of the stormy night.

Sunrise had soon come from around the corner signalling the morning's ascent, and the skies were immediately clearing up from the raging thunder and the brutal lightning that once struck pieces away. There were still clouds, however they were painted in softer, gentler hues. The ocean meanwhile still seemed to be temperamental, but at least, it was starting to calm down from that terrible storm.

During this time, Francis and Gilbert were calling out for their missing friend who had disappeared during the course of the storm. They were understandably concerned since Antonio had chosen to stay, and in the presence of a bunch of humans, too.

"_Antoine_?"

"Toni? Where are you, man?"

"_Antoine_, please respond!"

"Francis! Gilbert!" Antonio's voice called out. "I'm over here!"

The two mermen instantly swam in direction as to where their friend's voice was coming from, and, upon finally reaching him, were immensely horrified and shocked upon seeing him on the golden sands of the beach.

But it wasn't because their friend was on the beach that made them so shaky.

No, it was because there was a _human _lying right next to him.

"_Mon dieu_, _Antoine_!" shrieked Francis. "What on earth are you doing?! There is a _human _close to you!"

Antonio quickly shushed him, looking rather annoyed from the blonde merman's sudden squawking. Upon gazing back down at the human though, the red-tailed merman's expression was melted to one of worry. "He's not…he's not dead…is he?" he asked, voice extremely soft, clearly traced with hints of fear.

Gilbert came forward and carefully pried one of the unconscious Quan's eyes open. "Ehh…I dunno…" the albino merman shrugged. "Hard to say, really…" he then took hold of one of Quan's feet and pressed it to his ear. Sticking his tongue out, the albino merman shook his head, utterly _crushing _the hopeful look on poor Antonio's face, "Sorry, Toni…but I don't think he made it…"

"You imbecile!" Francis snapped, rolling his blue eyes. "That is _not _how you listen to a human's heartbeat!"

"Yeah, well I honestly don't know, nor do I care," Gilbert answered back. "Do _you _know?"

"You just listen like how you would with one of us," responded Francis. "You just listen to his chest."

No sooner had those words escaped from Francis' mouth, when Antonio immediately pressed his ear to Quan's chest. A smile began forming onto the red-tailed merman's face when he could hear the steady thumping of a pulse resound from within the human's body. "He's alive!" Antonio said in delight. "Francis was right!"

"Yeah, and he's breathing, too," Gilbert noted as Quan suddenly gave a gasp and his mouth began sucking the air.

"_Oui_, he is fine now," Francis nodded. "Now, come on – I honestly don't want him to have to catch sight of us…I mean, what if King Romulus catches sight of—"

"Oi, you bastards!"

"Well," Gilbert gave a nervous chuckle. "It ain't King Romulus, but it _is _someone of royal blood." He then waved at a rather irritated looking Lovino who was swimming towards them, "What's up, Lovi-locks? How was the party?"

"Chigi! It was a success…"

"But then, why are you so upset, _mon cher_?" Francis inquired, arching an elegant eyebrow. "I thought it would be a good thing."

"Hell no, it's not," sighed Lovino in frustration. "Now _papá _thinks I can do more of these once the time comes around, and it was a _shit _job already! I had virtually _no _rest whatsoever, and all I could manage to eat in that one damn night was…!" he then caught sight of Antonio softly stroking the matted black hair out of the unconscious Quan's face, and immediately stopped his ranting for a moment, ambers eyes slowly widening to saucers. "What the…?"

"_Antoine_ saved his life," Francis spoke up before Lovino could explode at any moment.

"Chigi…" breathed Lovino. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair and shook his head. "Damn it…"

Antonio however didn't pay attention to his friends' ramblings. Instead, all of his attention was fixed solely onto the human that was lying right near him. The red-tailed merman was humming slightly at first as he gingerly reached out again to place away some of the dark hair that was slightly covering Quan's eye. Seeing the human stir slightly but not recoil away from his touch, Antonio's mouth opened slightly, and his voice was heard instead.

Lovino, Francis and Gilbert could only watch wordlessly at their friend, who didn't seem to want to let go of the human at the moment. And honestly, they were all rather worried right now…

…escalated even more when there was loud, high-pitched bark as well as strange, soft mewl.

As well as two fluffy creatures of unknown origin coming to all of their lines of sight.

"Whoa, what _are _those things?"

"_Mon dieu_! They're coming this way!"

"Chigi! Let's get the hell out of here!"

However, Antonio didn't follow suit as his friends frantically swam away taking refuge in the ocean. The red-tailed merman saw the two animals stop close to him; the small fluffy thing that barked had its (what Antonio assumed to be) ears flattened as it growled, though the menacing message was underdone due to its adorable face. The bigger, fluffier one with the large nose simply tilted its head and rubbed against Quan's unconscious form.

"You're just worried about him, too, are you, _mi amigos_?" Antonio inquired.

Here, Pochi stopped barking, and blinked. After gazing at Antonio, the little dog gave a small whimper as it then sat on its haunches. Ivan simply gave a _"Da" _with a flicker of his bushy tail.

"I am, too," sighed Antonio as he leaned down closer to take a better view of Quan's face. And the more he peered down at it, sinking in every detail, the quicker the pace his heart was beating, and the knots in his stomach would churn around. The red-tailed merman reached his hand out again to place more matted hair away from the Vietnamese man's eyes when he could hear a groan.

Quan himself was unaware of what was going on – but he felt his head slightly throb in pain, and voices that sounded fuzzy and somewhat muted; quite indistinguishable.

However, that was when he could hear a voice singing to him, penetrating through the darkness where he was still slightly submerged in.

This voice was echoing pleasantly in his once sore ears – providing a soft healing fixative to it. It was male, most definitely due to the slightly deeper pitch, however it was rich in regards to tone and had a melting, soothing quality that was a pleasure to hear.

Quan wanted to open his eyes and face this person, who he naturally assumed was the one who rescued him from disaster, but found that his body refused due to exhaustion from the turmoils of what it went through.

So instead, when the Vietnamese man felt fingers softly move some of his bangs away from where they got matted on, on his face, his own hand slowly reached up to grab the one that was touching him.

It was wet, further proving that this person was probably the one who saved him, however the skin felt like velvet, and much to Quan's own surprise, he didn't want that hand gone.

Which was why he gently brought it to his face rather than his bangs. He prompted the hand to stroke and caress his face, soft yet so warm and filled with life.

Antonio himself was very shocked upon the human grabbing his hand, and for a moment, his whole figure froze and his own heart stopped. But the next action made him redden slightly, though it would be a lie to say that the red-tailed merman didn't blush out of surprised pleasure. He reciprocated, stroking and caressing Quan's face in the most tender fashion that he could. Antonio softly smiled as he continued to sing; his voice strongly yet in an appropriately quiet manner, soothing the once shattered air.

Honestly, Antonio didn't want this to end – he had no idea how long he and the human were like this, but he wanted it to last forever. However, he also wanted the human to know and see him.

Even though this was not meant to be.

Frantic cries and shouts were slowly piercing in the once beautiful atmosphere that Antonio had created. This prompted the red-tailed merman to suddenly perk up as he could hear the voices come closer and closer.

He reluctantly released hold of Quan's hand, and also moved his hand away even when the human's hand had reached out to reclaim it, their fingertips brushing each other.

Even so, just that simple and small action caused Antonio's breath to get hitched into his throat, and his own heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly fled to the ocean, diving into its great, blue expanse.

What he did not know was that Quan was already coming to.

The Vietnamese man's eyes were half-lidded as he tried to focus on the male outline that was over him, singing that song that will now remain in his memory. Quan could make out slightly curled and wavy hair, as well as the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

Then the hand that was holding his was released as he left. Quan had tried to grab hold onto his saviour's hand again; a feeble yet desperate attempt to keep that warmth close to him.

That same warmth he once felt years ago.

When he finally came properly to, Quan sat up as he frantically looked around for him. He could hear familiar voices call his name as well as the names of the dog and cat sitting by his side faithfully, and immediately brightening upon him regaining his full consciousness.

Hearing a splash however, the Vietnamese man instantly whipped his head around as he continued to rub at the side of his head, which was still throbbing and pulsing in pain.

His honey-gold orbs widened upon the sight that they caught.

A strong, scaly red tail with beautifully intricate golden fins submerged into the water.

"That…" Quan breathed, his eyes still gaping in shock. "What…"

When Mei, Kasem, Yong Soo and Mathias found him sitting on the beach, he was still caught in a daze from what he just saw as well as everything that he had gone through. They were crying tears of joy and relief, particularly Mei who hugged him tightly. And upon asking him how he had survived the whole thing, seeing as one of his boats had combusted to smithereens.

"Someone saved me…" the Vietnamese man murmured in response, still somewhat dazed and unsure if what he saw and heard was real. "I couldn't see their face, though…"

Before going homeward bound, Quan stopped and turned to face the very spot where he saw that strange tail go under the ocean's salty surface. Immediately, he could hear the divine masculine voice that sung comfortingly in his ear, which he felt, was just for him.

That voice will never leave him, the Vietnamese man believed. Even if he tried hard to forget it, it will come back and haunt in his thoughts, teasing him. Especially upon catching sight of Pochi and Ivan - this was one of the only times that Quan wished that animals could talk; they'd be able to tell him what his rescuer looked like since they were found by his side as well. He could even feel Ivan's brush-like tail rubbing him while the mystery person's hand was tenderly stroking his face.

'_Who are you?' _Quan wondered as he finally continued on his way home, following his family. '_I don't know…but hopefully one day, I will get to see you again…and thank you properly.'_

Unbeknownst to the Vietnamese man, Antonio was actually secretly following him, hiding behind the cluster of white rocks. The red-tailed merman stared after the human's figure and gave a sigh as his gaze fell upon his leg yearningly.

'_I'm glad you're okay now…' _Antonio thought to himself as his eyes then wandered up to Quan's figure just before he disappeared within his home. _'I don't know when, and I don't know how, but I do know something that's starting right now. Someday…watch and you'll see…'_

* * *

_And end scene. Yes, what happened was quite distinguishable, and I'm pretty sure all of you know where I drew inspiration from in that scenario. So here, we've had a first interaction! (somewhat) don't worry, they'll finally start talking with each other in the 7th chapter. The 6th/next one will be some daily insight of what they do, but it will provide on both Antonio and Quan's perspective after what happened from the storm._

_Character/s Included]:  
Pochi  
Ivan [Russia Cat]  
Jang Li Hua [Nyo!Hong Kong]_

_Next chapter? Hopefully tomorrow or the day after, since I'm still reasonably busy, but I'm starting to find time to write, thank Kami-sama. I hope that my writing of shonen-ai/boy's love was sufficient - I'm still very new to the concept of writing romance, so I apologize if it doesn't suit anyone's fancy; I'll try harder next time. TTnTT_

_Well, thoughts and opinions? That is, if you have the time to spare. =^^=_

_I hope you have a pleasant day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	6. Wonder and Ponder

_Greetings, HetaWriter/HetaReader here with another chapter. :)_

_Anyway, a BIG thanks goes to **Northern rose of May **for the follow, and to **Falling Wings **for the fave AND the follow. Also an even BIGGER thanks goes to **Madam Platypus **and **xXBlueSariaXx** for the reviews. :D_

**_Madam Platypus:_**_ Thank you; I quite like writing descriptions, and it was a lot of fun to write out that storm scene. 8) out of all the Nekotalia cats, Russia cat is my favourite. :D it'd be nice to have a cat lime him in my opinion. =^^=_

**_xXBlueSariaXx: _**_Hehe, yes...that scene is quite distinguishable (as I mention before, this story draws great inspiration from that and one other film, however there are some other things that inspire me). Thank you - I really like doing descriptions; I love to paint a picture for people to imagine, only with words. :) again, I thank you for finding that mistake. TT7TT well, Gilbert's the awesome guy with the sense of humour after all. XD PruIta really is a pairing that I'm starting to fall in love with. :D__  
_

_Short note over - onward we go!_

* * *

Days had calmly passed by since that freakish storm, however it was obvious to see that many of the town's citizens were still quite shaken up from the event. It _was _after all, the only event that they had ever experienced that could ever be called or be even close to a death-related one.

Quan suffered quite a bit upon losing one of his best boats to such an unexpected lash out from mother nature, but much to everyone else's surprise, the Vietnamese man was taking things far more steadily than they were.

In fact, he was continuing work as if nothing ever happened. Despite the fact, that he was probably the one that suffered from it the most.

Losing a boat was one thing – especially one that was used quite a lot from any upper-class folks, and pulled in the greens that helped him support his family and himself, however he himself got _almost _caught in an explosion, and to make things all the harder than him, he almost drowned in cold, dark, salty water.

People still wondered how Quan was able to survive that event with only a bump on his head from some stray debris that came from his boat, but they were met with the same response that he was saved by someone.

When they tried to push forward, the Vietnamese man simply shrugged and gave them another low, repetitive response

"Don't know, didn't see the face. It was a man, though."

Mei deeply wanted to thank this mystery man for saving her cousin, but whenever she looked around and questioned people, she had no luck. Yong Soo and Emil had joined in the search for the Quan's unknown saviour, but the three of them came back empty-handed, and dumbfounded that they couldn't find him.

"Where do you think this guy even lives?" Emil questioned after another unsuccessful day of searching.

Mei shrugged, "I'm not sure…but come on! He _has _to be around here somewhere. He can't have just disappeared from out of thin air!"

"He _could _be living in the forest or the hills," offered Yong Soo. "Some people live there; he might've just come by to fish or something, then he saw _hyeong _and saved him."

Mei's face pulled into a scowl as she contemplated that motion, "That does sound plausible…"

Kasem himself was a little worried about his Vietnamese cousin, though – Quan had to sort out some financial problems, and even with Rosaliese's payment to him (which included a more generous amount of money to try and compensate for his lost boat), he lost a good number of customers who wanted to use that very vessel for their own objectives.

The Thai man noticed that Quan worked much later than usual, and at night, it seemed that he couldn't sleep, either. One time, Kasem went downstairs to get a midnight snack, but upon walking past Quan's room, he could see that the door was slightly ajar, and the Vietnamese man was sitting in his bed with stacks of paper and a few books surrounding him in rather dishevelled piles.

It was a known fact that everyone knew; that Quan built all of his own ships. He would go to a rather large workshop in town for the construction of the larger ships with his employees there to help him, however the smaller boats – rowboats, canoes, kayaks and parts of pontoons – were made in a workshop that was right next to his house.

Smaller boats were usually more of a request, but sometimes he constructed these smaller vessels just because he wanted to. He would focus on constructing the boat for hours and polish and paint it with very constructive care.

However, it was noted that Quan was taking more active participation in his work – much to the surprise of his employees, the Vietnamese man began taking some fishing requests and boat buoyancy testing tasks for himself.

Besides running a boat business, Quan was also well known for catching fish (since he had a good number of boats, why not?). They were caught by two methods – either by a fishing pole and lure, or with a net. Everyone noted that he was now frequently taking one of his fishing boats and stayed out at sea for hours – ideally, one every second day from the very rise of the sun to its descent.

It was rather odd – you would think that somebody who almost died from _drowning _would not spend any time near the sea.

However, many people linked the reasons as to why Quan was spending more of his time doing even more hands-on work in the field, because his business reached a bit of a bump.

Of course, with him working more often with little to no rest, it was no surprise that his family worried about him.

He still ate his meals and did his daily routine of exercise, however it was easy to see that from how he kept nodding off every so often, and there was evidential bags that were starting to gather from below his eyes, and he was more prone to yawning.

However, Mei and Yong Soo soon discovered that there may be something else that was making their older cousin so restless.

One day, Mei saw him in his workshop, eager to help him with painting a rowboat that a female customer had requested for, when she saw that he was leaning slightly on the workbench with the finished boat sitting on the hard, levelled ground. When she came over, she saw that he was actually busy carving something out of a spare piece of wood.

"Hey, that looks really pretty," Mei said brightly as she came closer for a better look.

Raising his hand slightly to put it into better view, Mei could see that what he was carving appeared to be some sort of tail. It had a smoothened surface, but the Taiwanese girl could plainly see very intricate detail was taken in carving some of the more individualistic scales with a great amount of care. The fins at the end was cut to such skill, that it was progressively almost paper thin right at the ends.

Quan brows furrowed down to a frown, "It's missing colour…"

"Can I paint it?" questioned Mei, however she got greatly disappointed at him shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, but no. But you can paint the rowboat; I was able to finish it early– you said you wanted peach and salmon pink, didn't you?" he held the wooden tail in a tight grip and a rather protective manner in one hand while he pointed at the rowboat and several cans and tins of waterproof paint.

The next two hours were spent painting the rowboat, and while Mei chattered excitedly, enjoying this quality time with her older cousin, she noticed that he seemed rather…_distracted_.

Several times throughout the conversation, he had a rather glazed tint on his golden hues as he stared at the strokes of paint he was applying to the boat's surface. However, it was plain to see that his focus and attention were resting elsewhere – on something that wasn't in the view of the naked eye, and most likely in his head. Also, whenever Mei shook his shoulder, snapped her fingers, or speak even louder, he would give a slight jerk as if he waken up, and after sheepishly apologizing for his lack of attention, request her to repeat what she said, and respond more accordingly.

It was tolerable the first few times, then a little exasperating in the next ones, however it soon got to the point that Mei was getting _really _worried for him.

Still, it was nice spending time with him in this little creative piece. And whenever he _did _respond, he seemed far more open to conversation and willing to say more words, which was a good thing.

The night of the very same day, feeling peckish for some reason, Yong Soo was casually making his way downstairs to grab a midnight snack, when he walked right past his older cousin's room, and, upon seeing the door slightly ajar, peered through it quietly, upon realizing that the lamp was still lit.

The Korean boy squinted his eyes to try and make out what he was doing, and saw that the Vietnamese man was surrounded by books. At first, Yong Soo wasn't so bothered upon reading the titles of some of these books, _"Exotic Life Underwater"_, _"Rare Aquatic Species"_ and _"Fish Sighting's Guide"_ – it looked like maybe Quan was simply studying rarer fish species or something that would sell more and to cover his slight financial problem.

He was about to continue on his way, when he could hear a familiar little _'da~' _from within Quan's room.

Ivan was curled up near the Vietnamese man, blinking lazily at the books pieces of literature – the cat seemed to want to spend more time with him nowadays, which Mei thought was extremely cute. It was as if the cat worried that something bad would happen to Quan again, she claimed.

It was what Quan said to the cat, though, that made Yong Soo wonder…

"It's a shame that you and Pochi can't talk. Maybe you can tell me what he looks like, who he is…what he even is, maybe…"

Expanding on his curiosity, when Quan left early in the morning for work, Yong Soo snuck into his room and saw that on the Vietnamese man's desk actually had a great stack of books piled there, as well as several sheets of paper. However, upon going past the first few titles that the Korean boy recognized from last night, but he soon uncovered much stranger titles.

"_**Oddities of the Ocean", "Mythological Pearls: Collection of the Sea's Jewels", "Sink or Swim – Fantasy or Reality?" "The Ocean's Bottom – What Does Lie Underneath?"**_

"Da?"

Yong Soo almost jumped out of his skin upon hearing the mew of the large Siberian Forest Cat. The feline simply gazed up at the boy curiously blinking. The Korean sighed as he came down to his haunches and patted Ivan's head, stroking his ears.

"_Hyeong was _right," Yong Soo remarked with a nod. "It really sucks that you and Pochi can't talk at all…maybe you can tell me why he's acting all weird about the sea…"

The event of the freaks storm not only took a toll on the humans of the land, but also of the merpeople of King Romulus' kingdom.

* * *

Everyone was acting in a happier mood than usual from the party that was held in the king's palace, but as soon as that euphoric high had come up, it came sinking down straight away as everyone went back to work.

However, there was one that didn't comply to that.

Antonio was noticeably getting later and later to work upon collecting seaweed and kelp for the merchant he was working under, and also seemed to pay less attention to everything that was happening around him.

Francis, Gilbert, Lovino and Emma worried about their friend – since he was acting even more spacey than usual. That incident of the male human, they tried to forget and pretend that never happened (after telling Emma about it), but Antonio seemed to like bringing that topic up a lot, to which they quickly shushed him – fearful for the consequences.

So, Antonio stayed silent about talking about that incident, however that didn't mean he couldn't stop thinking about it.

They noticed that the red-tailed merman was humming and singing a certain melody over and over. For them, it sounded nice and beautiful at first, however it soon reached their nerves since that was the only song he wanted to sing. The merpeople of the town however didn't seem to mind – some even wanted to hear Antonio sing that tune over and over again; he was regarded as having one of the most beautiful male voices of the kingdom.

And it was no surprise that a lot of them hoped that Antonio was going to use that as his proposal serenade.

"Is that tune for somebody special?" Emma had asked him one day, curiously interested.

Antonio blinked, and here, much to everyone's surprise, his tanned face took a cherry hue as he gave a soft smile, "You _could _say that…"

However, that single melody expanded into several more as the days continued to come by.

There was also the matter that Antonio would disappear quite frequently – nobody knew where he went off to, and to those who had a feeling, they were afraid that he was going to one day get caught.

Of course, Antonio paid no heed to all of their worries and attentions; there was only one that he wanted right now.

His strong, streamlined figure swimming up to the surface, rippling along with the cool tides, the red-tailed merman came closer and closer to the human's parts, his bright emerald eyes scanning around until he found what he wanted.

A conical hat, dark hair, and a lanky build that was holding…some sort of strange weapon with a thin handle and a flat end that was probably used as means for attack.

Whenever he caught sight of this human, Antonio found that he couldn't have enough of him – his heart fluttered whenever this male human spoke, and a pleasant shiver would run down his spine when that human gave a soft, rare laugh. And the red-tailed merman's head spun, as well as his face catch heat whenever he found himself staring right into his eyes.

Those beautiful, goldfish-coloured eyes…

It was now a daily routine for Antonio to keep coming up to the surface just to watch and take glimpses of the human. At first, the red-tailed merman would come during sunset to observe him working on his boats and converse with his fellow humans in that calm, deep voice of his. And soon, Antonio found himself coming in the middle of the night as well with the moon as his light. He would swim up to the surface, to the beach that was closer to his home, and able to catch the silhouette of his figure from a window.

He could see that the human seemed very focused on something. He was reading a number of books as the days passed, and he was also always shifting his attention on a strange little object that Antonio couldn't recognize at first.

However, upon glancing closer at it during one night, Antonio was surprised to see that the object that his human was holding looked exactly like a miniature version of his tail.

And that was when the swelling pain started to throb in the red-tailed merman's chest the more he gazed yearningly at the human.

At first, Antonio was perfectly fine with just watching and catching glimpses of him; hearing his voice was a great amount of relief to his being, too. However, with all those beautiful feelings, came the bitter pain, which the red-tailed merman didn't want to feel.

He had tried to stop coming to the surface to see him, but upon doing so, the pain worsened, and his thoughts were solely placed onto him. _'How is he doing? Is he okay? I wonder if he's still working on that boat from yesterday?' _were only few of the thoughts that crossed Antonio's mind about him.

So, that was why he came back at once, and the pain was soothed upon catching sight of him working dutifully. However, that only caused his friends to worry all the more about his wellbeing and safety – really, they lost count on how many times Antonio had swum to the surface, but it was a miracle that he had not been discovered or found out just yet. But there was that grim notion of how long his good luck will continue to run until it ran out.

Antonio himself had a few close calls since he couldn't predict when a human was going to see him. However, the red-tailed merman was able to find several ways on hiding himself from their views. Many times, he hid behind the cluster of white rocks, he also hid underneath the boat's resting place, and he also stayed underwater a few times. He also gained clumps of seaweed to hide himself and peek through a little hole he made just to see what was going on, and how and what the human was doing.

However, there was a time when Antonio _almost _did get caught.

The red-tailed merman swam to the surface again as the sun was already beginning its journey down the horizon, and he wondered what his human was up to. He caught sight of him simply standing there with that strange instrument that he would continue to play those haunting melodies with.

Antonio felt bliss wash and an inexplicable delight wash over him whenever he heard the vibrating notes from that instrument. He would watch with an admiring gaze that lay on both the instrument, the musician, and the long, spindly fingers that contributed to its smooth changes between notes. Several times, the red-tailed merman would softly sing along with improvised lyrics.

However, Antonio found that whenever he sang along with the human's playing, his lyrics would always be romantic in nature. Romantic with a hint of longing and sorrow.

"Hey, Quan! How you doing?"

Antonio slowly swam a little closer to see what was going on, _just _stopping at the first boat ledge while he watched Quan who was on the second one. Honestly, though the red-tailed merman had heard that name many, _many_ times and see the human respond to it, he wasn't sure if that truly was his name, or if it was a nickname or surname.

When he _did _whisper the name to himself, Antonio found it pleasantly roll over his tongue, tumbling out from his lips.

It was still a lovely name sounding name.

"Good day to you, Mr Adnan," the human responded with a bow to another human. This one also appeared to be male, and he was much taller and more darker-skinned than him. He was also wearing dark green and had a white thing that covered his eyes.

Here, the other human sighed, "You know I already told you – it's just Sadik! Mr Adnan makes me feel old…"

There was an amused glint in Quan's golden eyes, "It's a term of respect, too, you know."

"Still, there's no need to be so stiff around each other," the taller, older and bigger human placed his hands on his hips. "We've known each other for years, after all."

"Indeed," Quan nodded. "You were one of the first to welcome me here; you and your wife. For that, I am forever grateful."

"Seriously, don't talk like that," the other human said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "It sounds like you're in depth or something – if anything, I should be in depth to you; you give me the best cuts from the fish market, after all."

"It is only fair, is it not?"

"So, what are you staring at?"

Quan glanced pointedly, to which Antonio followed his gaze.

What he was looking at was a boat. This boat was smaller than the others ones around the boat ledges, however it was certainly not a small vessel. Also, there was something about this boat that made it more important than the others surrounding it. It could be because this boat had a very smooth looking surface and appeared to be finely polished and well looked after, making it appear elegant and poised.

Antonio then noticed that there was a little sign at the boat's rear that read a name.

_**Allie**_

It was finely carved with great care, and the writing was very neat, yet it was also easy to see that it was done with a shaky, nervous hand. There were some complexly designed star patterns also carved at two opposite corners of the sign, and there was one flower in bloom at the base of the _'A'_.

The red-tailed wondered who was that person – was she his mother? He had never seen a woman at his house and shower him with the love and care that a mother would give her son. Maybe his sister? Antonio had seen a young girl interact him on many occasions, and she looked a bit like him.

Or could it be a lover?

That last thought caused something to stab cruelly into Antonio's heart, and he almost gasped in pain from it, but instead, he swallowed it down. If he made any noise, there was no doubt that he would get discovered, and that would be disastrous.

"Oh…" the other human looked rather uncomfortable here. "Your boat's still beautiful as always, Quan. You always look after them well."

Quan simply kept his gaze onto the boat, his golden eyes were blank, and his expression was void of emotion.

However, Antonio could just _see _a small flicker of flame get extinguished as more glass and ice formed in his human's eyes. Was this the reason why he was so cold and shut himself away? Was that the reason why he was creating such beautiful yet pained, bittersweet music?

Because he missed her, maybe…

The red-tailed merman knew for a while that there were powerful emotions that were sparking inside his very being in regards to this human as it was affecting him severely. Hearing the fact that the human may already be taken was greatly shattered his usually cheerful and sunny disposition. Antonio trembled slightly as he continuously told himself that it was just a name, not following the conversation conducted between the two male humans, now wanting to go home.

There was a sudden squawk that brought him back to reality.

Antonio frantically looked around to see that there was one of those annoying white birds with the orange beaks and legs. It was shrieking at his direction, which understandably made the red-tailed merman panicky.

Eventually, after hitting the bird with his tail away from him, Antonio dived back into the ocean and swam away as fast as his tail could allow him, not caring that his whole body was getting more and more tired.

When he made it back home, he found that he was gasping for breath, and that his heart had a tiny little crack formed. However, it seemed to repair itself the more that the red-tailed merman reasoned with himself that many names can be important to a person – a family member, a close friend, a pet, even.

After all, there was that fluffy, big-nosed animal that that human seemed to hold on a high regard; it certainly showed a lot of affection to him.

* * *

Quan knew that he was obsessing over this one thing, but he just couldn't help it. He just _had _to know, and he had built a hypothesis centred around it.

That very event was starting to plague his dreams at night.

He first felt his lungs burn with the salty, ice cold water invading his nostrils, choking him mercilessly. Then as he started to fully lose touch with reality and fell into darkness, he could feel warmth wrap around him as it started leading him away from the danger. Next, as he came to, he could hear voices that were warped and distorted in his sore ears. However, there was one that stuck out with him the most – a male one. That voice then sang; and in a lovely, pleasant melody that was progressively rejuvenating him.

Then more warmth touched him.

That warmth sent a lovely surge in his being, and for once after a rather long time to others and even himself, his heart swelled and the pulse quickened with his breath slightly caught in his throat.

When he attempted to open his eyes, he could only make out some of the figure – a beautiful smile and wavy locks of hair, though whether they were black, brown or simply blonde but just darkened from the shadows of a low angle with the sun shining behind him, he wasn't sure.

What captured Quan more however was this mystery man's eyes.

He could certainly make out the colour – they were green. However, the shade was also unknown to him.

Though he lost money from losing one of his better ships, oddly enough, the Vietnamese man found that he didn't really seem to mind or care about it. After all, he had suffered a financial crisis that was far worse than this one, and if he could get over that one, then there was no doubt that he could get over this one.

Besides, this one was an accident from the unpredictable character of Mother Nature, unlike that aforementioned disaster where it was intentional from the offender and done with underhanded tactics.

That voice and that song continued haunting Quan and his dreams; he soon couldn't sleep properly just by continuously getting fixated from that mysterious singing, however the words were blurred and the Vietnamese man was left to try and decipher the words again.

Because he couldn't sleep, Quan began using that time to try and learn more about what possibly that tail he saw could belong to. The two colours were also flashing in his mind whenever he _did _attempt to sleep every so often to see if he could try and calm himself and get over his new case of insomnia. Red and gold were melting together, and the tail appeared again before it disappeared beneath the waves.

So far, from all the books that he was reading, Quan could not find a match in any logs and documents about species of rare and exotic species of fish. He even searched in books about extinct marine life.

He also began coming out on a boat to see if he can gain sight of that tail again. He just _had _to have one more glimpse of it – he was still rather dazed from that only time before; his head was recovering from the pain that split it, and was now a huge bump that he hid with his _nón lá_, due to the size of it being a rather embarrassing and noticeable mass.

Many times and for many hours, Quan would gaze out into the sea as he fished. He searched the sea's great expanse with a scrutinizing golden eye, but was met with the same disappointment of nothing in his line of sight.

However, being the stubborn man he was, Quan continued to come out on a boat; sometimes with his employees, sometimes by himself. But the Vietnamese man was even more determined to find the answer that he was looking for.

Right now, after a moment of contemplation, Quan chose to go by himself more often with a boat that he hadn't used for ages, yet chose to keep in a prime condition.

However, he was very shocked to see that he was shaky and nervous coming to this special boat again. Though he seemed point blank and expressionless externally, inside, a huge turmoil of feelings were taking place in a spiralling mess.

Those strong emotions were only put on hold because of Mr Adnan coming up to and talking with him. With that, the Vietnamese man was able to roughly grab those emotions and throw them back into his Pandora box and seal it with a key.

That wasn't to say, though, that little wisps of it were still present in his mind the more he looked at the boat.

The more he looked at that sign he made…

That name was ringing in his head, and a giggly, high-pitched chortle was reverberating painfully in his head as the hand holding his paddle began to tremble uncontrollably. He could also feel a cage opening from within him; unleashing a beast that snarled, ready to roar the more he could hear that feminine voice coo into his ear and that laugh continue to play over and over again.

'_Mock me still after all this time…how _dare_ you…'_

He was sharply cut back to the present, and everything was melted away when he could hear a shrieking squawk trill the air.

Turning his head, Quan could see a seagull knocked back in his direction, to which the Vietnamese man sidestepped. The bird gained its composure and flew away in a rather lopsided hurry, still rather miffed from getting stuck by…whatever it was that struck it in the first place.

However, upon turning his head to the direction it was flying caused his heart to stop for a moment and his breath got caught on his throat.

A flash of red scales and a glimmer of gold that the sun's light caught.

He stared with unblinking eyes as it disappeared under the water. When he finally _did _blink, and peer out at the ocean he could only see that tail slowly submerge back into the water – as if it was melting with the very aquatic molecules itself.

Quan took a few steps towards the edge of the dock to gaze out some more at the ocean. Glancing at the ocean's great spread, and seeing that strange tail again, the Vietnamese man felt all the more determined to know what it belonged to, and if his hypothesis was ultimately correct.

'_What are you exactly? Someday, I will know, and see if I really am correct on my little theory…'_

* * *

_Chapter piece is now put to a close. :) almost up to the point where they'll actually be face-to-face (and Quan isn't knocked out or semi-unconscious). No new characters are introduced this time, but now, you can see why Quan is the way he is. _

_Because I feel adventurous and want to keep my writing juices flowing, here's a little challenge:  
**Who is it? **_

_Remember - characters include: Hetalia, Nyotalia and 2P!Talia (also Nekotalia, but that doesn't apply here). You only get one guess. If you try to do multiple guesses, I will only take your first one._

_Whoever gets it first will be able to make a fiction one-shot request. However, I must lay down a few rules for that, first:  
- No hardcore, smut or lemon, please - I'm pretty much otherwise open to hetero, yaoi and yuri. I'm also fine with indicating, but please, don't expect me to write something explicit. Make out scenes are also something I'm still nervous in writing about, but I we'll see.  
- No touchy or controversial subjects, please - e.g. Holocaust, 9/11 and anything else like that.  
- Rape and abuse is a preferable don't, please, don't have me write something like that out - it's not an easy to subject to look upon, and it's not really a good plot device in my opinion: have you ever been abused or raped? I certainly hope not (I haven't, so that also explains my reluctance to write it).  
- War fics are a maybe; I'm still not talented enough to pull of the battlefield atmosphere since I've never been on it. Also, I feel like anything that I write for that won't ever be able to capture it.  
- Violence is fine, just please, don't make it the very _core _of the story. I tend to dislike needless excessive violence.  
- Popular pairings may not be considered; however that can be discussed with you._

_My strongest points:  
- AU's; particularly human AU's. However, I'm getting into fantasy ones, too. :D  
- Crack pairings; it's a good extension of thought for me, and I like learning more about bonds between countries and if they even have one.  
- Fluff; apparently some say that I do this a lot. =^^=  
_

_If you _do _get it right, then I'll contact you via PM message and we'll arrange your request there. How long will it take me to write it? Should only be a day or two. Please, have faith in me there. ^^'_

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day, and good luck! :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	7. Two Different Elements

_Hi guys, HetaWriter/HetaReader here, with the next chapter! :D_

_Anyway, a BIG thanks goes to **xXBlueSariaXx**, **Madam Platypus **and **Lucy's Wonderland Madness **for the reviews! 8D_

**_xXBlueSariaXx:_** _Well, here's the chapter! =^^= just read on to find out. ;)_

**_Madam Platypus: _**_Yes, so close indeed. XD well, here it is, at last! ;)_

_**Lucy's Wonderland Madness: **Glad to see you able to catch up! :D ah, thank you! I actually loved writing that particular scene; I love writing descriptions. :) that was the idea - they were both affected upon not meeting the other, so it gets them more nervous, building up until they finally _do _meet each other. I actually wrote 2 SpaViet pieces, but they both have normal Vietnam. **"Chopsticks" **and **"Straw Hat"** . ;)_

_Here it is, I hope you enjoy! _

* * *

Currently at present, Antonio was becoming even more spacey; lacking attention and focus on everything and everyone around him. At the same time, he seemed rather…fidgety. He couldn't stop swimming and moving around; he also seemed rather nervous and conflicted with something.

His friends were very worried by now, but they knew that whenever Antonio had a problem, he would simply plaster that bright, sunny beam back onto his tanned face and insist in a cheery manner that he was fine. You would have to wait for Antonio to come to you and confess his problems to you before you can actually _do _anything about helping him.

Though Gilbert, Francis and Lovino were understandably concerned, Emma felt that they were _at least _trying to know what was wrong with the red-tailed merman.

Which, was probably why she swam around to look for Antonio, and make the first move.

Eventually, she found him near a bright coral reef where a lot of the more colourful and vibrant fish loved to frolic and play in their schools. The red-tailed merman was leaning on a large rock and he was humming himself that song.

That same, original song he first hummed after that incident with the sudden storm that took place at the surface.

Emma knew that Gilbert, Francis and Lovino were now annoyed with that song by now – Lovino had even threatened Antonio that he would rip his tail fins off if he ever heard him hum or sing that song again, Gilbert would tell Antonio that that tune was unawesome and to be quiet…even Francis would ask Antonio, in the politest voice that he could muster, if the red-tailed merman would kindly sing something else.

However, though Antonio loved that song it seemed, Emma couldn't bring herself to hate it, really. In fact, any song that he sang or hummed, she found herself loving. She remembered when she asked him before on whether that song was for somebody special.

She recalled the cherry tint dusting on Antonio's tanned face as he responded in a rather uncharacteristically shy manner.

A lot of merpeople from the kingdom were quite eager to see on whom Antonio was planning to use his proposal serenade on. Emma could see plenty of the single mermaids flutter and bat their eyelashes at him, and she even saw some of them try desperately to comb their hair out to make it appear longer and fuller. Possibly in hopes of attracting his attention.

Hell, some of the mermen even swam up to Antonio and question as to _who _the song was for, just outright. It was obvious from their expressions that they seemed to have that hope or confidence that the song was directed at them.

After all, a proposal song was a proposal song, and love is love, regardless.

Of course, he was highly unaware of their efforts, let alone _why _they did so in the first place. It was highly amusing to watch for Emma and the others when Antonio would respond in a rather clueless manner whenever they began flirting with him, brushing their tail fins close to his own.

He really didn't seem to know. Either that, or he didn't care, but that was highly unlikely since Lovino had to point it out every occasion that Antonio was being subjected to flirting.

As she approached him, she could only gaze at his whole visage; she always loved how warm and optimistic he was – it was a nice attitude to have. Also, despite being tactless at times due to lack of acknowledging the atmosphere, he always meant well and he was gentle and actually considerate if he paid attention.

Pretty soon, the more she came closer, the more her heartbeat grew faster and the more it fluttered. Whenever her green eyes fell on him, she found that her whole being seemed to get instantly brightened and refreshed. His voice was soothing and warm; melting in lovely drops of shimmering notes and chromatics.

And it was no surprise, that by the time she reached him, she could see him turn around to smile at her.

Not at anybody else; just her.

That warm, beautiful smile that always seemed to uplift anyone's spirits

And then he came closer, his hand extended towards her face to brush away some floating locks of her yellow gold hair away from her face. That smile still present on that handsome face. His voice singing that song, and it was directed right at her; reaching into and gripping the very core of her being.

She honestly didn't know when her feelings towards Antonio escalated from a simple friendship. She, Lovino and the red-tailed merman knew each other from a young age – Antonio was always the adventurous one who loved swimming around; exploring the sea and discovering new places and objects, which was probably what led to his fascination and interest with the humans and their world.

He was an adorable young merboy – vigorous with youth and brimming with excitement that clearly shown through big, emerald green eyes. Now, he was fully mature into a handsome merman that befit – growing much taller; his eyes still warm and filled with that same eagerness.

Of course, Emma hoped; hoped that one day he would someday just turn his head around, see her, and realize that she was just there the whole time. Just there.

"Oh, _hola_, Emma!" greeted Antonio, breaking her away from her thoughts and the little bout of fantasy. "Were you there all this time?"

Emma blinked in surprise and shook her head, collecting herself; rather embarrassed that she was caught in an odd state. She looked really odd whenever her head was stuck in the clouds. "No, not really," she replied as she gave a sheepish laugh. "Still singing that song now, I see?"

Antonio's face became slightly scarlet again, which Emma thought was quite adorable; he was usually so confident and upbeat – to see this side of him was a pleasant change. It showed that even the red-tailed merman had weaknesses.

"I always wondered who the song was for," Emma continued, trying to find a way to bait him to see who it really was for. "They're a lucky one."

Antonio gave a laugh that was lined with nervousness, "Hopefully they'll feel lucky."

"Why do you say that?" questioned Emma, arching an elegant eyebrow. "_Anyone _would be lucky to have you, Toni."

"Well…" Antonio licked his lips as he shook his head. "I don't think _everyone _would be, _mi amiga_…"

"And why _do _you think that, Toni?" inquired Emma, both annoyed and curious at the same time. Annoyed at the fact that he was degrading himself since it was obvious that he was a great merman, curious because she was wondering just _who _was Antonio referring to, and just who would reject him, anyway.

Antonio glanced at Emma up and down, seemingly contemplating. His usually happy face was now filled with worry, which caught onto the mermaid.

Why did he look so worried? What was wrong with him? What made him so worried? All sorts of these questions popped up right into her head as the silence continued to stretch on.

After a bit of a while, Antonio then swallowed a lump in his throat as he whispered, "Emma, _mi amiga_…we've known each other for years. You know I trust you a lot, right?"

Emma nodded, "Yes. I know."

"I can tell you anything and everything, right?"

The mermaid gave him an encouraging smile, "Of course you can! Now, what's wrong? You can tell me."

Antonio gave a deep breath as he ran a hand through his messy tresses. "I'll tell you, but please; promise me you won't tell anyone," he said; his voice was pleading. "Please, just promise me."

Emma nodded as she raised a hand, "You have my word, Toni. Now, what's up?"

"Well…" the red-tailed merman tried to find the right words to say, but it proved to be a difficult task. "To be honest, Emma…I think I may have…you know…" seeing her confused face, Antonio shook his head and sighed, "Fallen for someone…"

Emma blinked, her green eyes widening, "R-really? Who?"

"That's the thing," Antonio continued. "He-"

'_Damn…'_ Emma thought to herself with a sigh. _'Well, that can't be helped…'_ she nodded and spoke, "So, it's a he…and…? What's the problem?"

"That's the thing," Antonio bit his bottom lip, not sure if he should really confess his problem. Sure, Emma was one of his closest and most trusted friends, however this _was _a big deal. "It's…he's…"

"It's okay, Toni," urged Emma. "Take your time, first. Take a deep breath."

"He's…" Antonio shook his head. "He's human."

Here, the red-tailed merman wished he hadn't said a thing, because now Emma's face was shifted quickly from confusion to great alarm. She squawked with her voice gone an octave higher due to that alarm, too, "_What?!_"

"I know, I know!" Antonio hurriedly shushed her as he blushed. "But…I can't help it…I honestly can't…"

"A-a human…?!" Emma was finally starting to calm down from that little spasm she almost went under. She was in disbelief; Antonio loved a male _human_? _How_ did that even happen? _Why_ did that even happen? The mermaid was at a loss for words, but seeing his hurt expression, she shook her head, quickly tried to regain her composure, and cleared her throat, "A-ah…sorry for acting like that…but yeah…continue?"

Antonio scratched his head; she was taking it far better than he thought – she was quite easily nervous when it came to the subject of humans and the surface, but really…the red-tailed merman needed to tell somebody now. _Anybody_. Otherwise he'd eventually get overwhelmed from the constant compression of hiding away what he truly felt and thought.

He knew that Francis, Gilbert and Lovino didn't want to hear the events of the storm, and they pretended not to notice. Emma was even asking him if there was something wrong, so it was a cue for him to spill himself to her.

And so, he continued talking.

He left out no detail; that he came to the surface frequently just to catch sight of the human and hear his voice as well as his instrument playing. That the song was actually a song that the male human would play at daily intervals. The red-tailed merman even told the blonde mermaid of that one incident where he _almost _got caught due to that noisy bird raising a racket.

Throughout all of this, Emma could only listen with a flabbergasted expression and a spinning head. Also, she felt really, inexplicably, down.

She had no change with Antonio it seemed; he seemed attracted to males for one thing, and another was that from the way he was talking about this human; the way his eyes sparkled excitedly, how he chattered on so many things about him, that expression on his face…so filled with admiration and placed with a rather dreaming quality to it, and how his voice had so much fondness and yearning as he continued to talk about him…

He finished with the question, "So…what should I do?"

Emma sighed as she shook her head. "I'm…really stunned, Toni…" she admitted. "I didn't expect you to fall in love with a human…"

"Honestly, I didn't expect that, either," agreed Antonio. "But…I just can't help it. And honestly, I don't know what to do. What should I do? What do you think?"

The red-tailed merman looked expectantly at her, hoping to hear some solace, but really, when she responded, he didn't find it.

"Toni, I'm sorry…" Emma shook her head. "But I think it'd be better if you forgot him."

Antonio shook his own head, "I can't. I've tried; he just keeps coming back into my head. He won't leave…"

"If King Romulus found out about this, you know the consequences," said Emma, now taking a stern, motherly tone to it. "We were warned when we were younger; it'll lead to exile. You know what happened to Kiku-"

"_Si_, _si_, I know," Antonio waved his hand dismissively. "But humans can't be _that _bad! The one that Kiku met was female, and from how he described her; she sounded so nice! I've come close to them without them knowing I was there, and they seem so much like us! Except…with no tails, and they can't breathe underwater."

"Toni, I know you love this human," Emma countered. "But please, _think _about it; what if that he doesn't like you? What if he's already taken? He could even be married and have children! Did that ever occur to you?"

"It has," Antonio cringed, the stabbing pain his heart coming back as he remembered the name _'Allie' _on the sign of his boat. "I haven't seen a wife or a lover, but…as long as I haven't, there's still that _little _chance I have."

"Toni…"

"It's a tiny chance, but it's still there."

Emma sighed; she would need help to convince him not to go up. She knew that she promised Antonio not to tell anyone else about it, but Gilbert, Francis and Lovino should know about this.

Maybe they had a better solution on what to do before he did something rash and regretful.

So that was why, after leaving Antonio with his thoughts, she sought after her other mermen friends to discuss about Antonio's problem. Finding them near the regular meeting spot, which was the cove, they noticed her worried and saddened expression, and immediately asked her as to what was wrong. And that was when she told them of everything; of where Antonio disappeared off to, his feelings towards the human he rescued, and that he wasn't sure on what to do, but seemed highly determined.

After the silence stretched far too long for Emma's comfort, she spoke up, "Well? What should we do?"

"_Ma chére_…" Francis said softly. "We know that he has developed passionate feelings towards the human he rescued…we knew for quite a while actually," he added upon seeing Emma's dumbfounded face.

"W-what…?" Emma blinked. "And you're not going to do anything about it?"

"_Frau_, we know it's a big deal since it can be _really _dangerous," Gilbert spoke up, his face suddenly so serious, that it actually looked frightening. "But you, the awesome me and everyone else here know how stubborn he is when he's got his eyes set on something. Trust the awesomeness, talking him out of it won't work."

"B-but…! We have to at _least _try, right?"

"_Ma chére_," Francis spoke in a much gentler voice, his blue eyes brimmed with pity. He knew that Emma had feelings towards the brunette merman, but he never did show that same interest towards her. "_Antoine _has a very strong obstinacy when it comes to _amour_. He won't simply let go of the one that holds his heart, be they human or not. And if anything, trying to talk him out of it, will just make him all the more determine to gain that love."

"I guess…" Emma looked down, utterly defeated. "B-but…"

"_Bella_," here, Lovino spoke up; also sporting a serious expression. However, he was, surprisingly, calm. "We can't do anything about it. I'm sorry, but really, the bastard hasn't done anything else than just dream and wonder so far. And his feelings are intense. Only thing we _can _do it nothing. Nothing until something drastic happens."

"I…" Emma gave a frustrated sigh. "I can't believe this…" and with that, she swam away.

"Poor Emma," said Francis, looking genuinely concerned. "She only cares for _Antoine's_ well-being…"

"And? We do, too," Gilbert responded. "But we all know how he is; he won't back down just from somebody telling him to stop. It'll just make him continue doing whatever the hell he was doing…"

Lovino didn't pay any attention to his older companions who were now in a hushed discussion about the red-tailed merman and his feelings. However, the prince's hazel eyes were kept in the direction that Emma had swum off to.

Honestly, he was upset upon the fact that she was distraught.

* * *

Antonio, on the other hand, began making his way to the surface. After contemplating only for a minute on what Emma told him, the red-tailed merman noticed a shadow was looming over him, and, upon looking up, he caught sight of the bottom of a boat.

Carefully poking his head out from underwater, his heart skipped a beat upon seeing that the boat was the sleek, polished one to which his human was looking at.

And speaking of which, his human was there, slightly picking at one string of that strange, yet elegant looking, instrument he played.

Quan was finely tuning his instrument, and upon completing the task, slid his bow over the strings, producing the haunting, echoing vibrato chord.

Antonio gave a sigh of pleasure as he softly shut his eyes and listened closely to it, swaying his head along slightly as his ears absorbed the notes, and they softly reverberated in his mind. He hummed to himself as the human continued playing, harmonising with the instrument. Honestly, whenever he heard that music, he always felt his heart leap for joy, and his admiration towards the musician just expanded upon catching sight of him and watching him create the beautiful music.

Quan didn't know how long he was playing for, but once he was satisfied with ending his song, the Vietnamese man felt something jab into his stomach, and a rumble emitted from within. Gazing down and arching one of his eyebrows, he walked into the boat's compartment to get some food and bring it outside; it was a lovely, sunny day, and he figured it would be nice to have lunch out in the open.

He came out with a whole bowl of fruit; a pineapple, a banana, several cherries, an orange and some strawberries. He also brought out some tinned tomatoes. He placed them all down on the small table, which was already set with a white tablecloth, and began preparing the food…

…only he realised that he forgot a plate.

Slapping his forehead, the Vietnamese man hurried back inside to get one or two.

Unfortunately, Antonio's curiosity overrode his rationality, and so, he found himself swimming closer to the boat; right at its edge. Because it was a rather small boat, it really wasn't that hard for Antonio to lean his arm over the edge and possibly grab something.

The red-tailed merman did just that.

He leaned over it slightly and stretched his arm out to grab hold of something. Feeling a rather rubbery surface, he saw that he was holding a strange yellow object that was curved. Antonio sniffed it, and even gave it a little lick.

It smelt nice, but it tasted a little odd.

Still, he placed it in his pouch. He remembered he had accidentally left it with Kiku before, and he almost panicked. The red-tailed merman couldn't wait to show his friend this strange object. And with that, hearing footsteps approaching, Antonio carefully dropped back into the ocean.

Quan came back outside with two plates in hand and his water flask. He came out and stared at his fruit bowl as he fixed the table. The Vietnamese man frowned as he stared at it in question.

He could've sworn that there was something missing.

Shrugging, Quan then realized that he forgot a tin opener for the tinned tomatoes. Heaving a sigh and wondering why he was becoming so forgetful, the Vietnamese man went back inside to retrieve it.

Which, naturally prompted Antonio to reach up again and grab more fruit. He was looking at the little red ones with the strange stalks. There was an orange ball with a rather smooth surface, and there were small red ones (though they were bigger than the ones with the stalks), and they had what appeared to be seeds on their surfaces. However, what intrigued the red-tailed merman even more was the big one with the strange green leaves growing off the top of it.

It was rather rough and quite spiky, scratching against Antonio's hands.

Quan came back outside and stared with widened eyes at the now empty white bowl. The Vietnamese man hurried over and peered inside of it, dumbfounded that all of his fruit were now gone. _'What the…?'_ he wondered to himself, honestly lost for words for once. He rubbed his chin as he gazed at the only morsel left; the tinned tomatoes.

Which was when he came up with a plan.

Using the tin opener, the tin's lid was taken off, and Quan poured the contents onto one of the plates.

Then he walked towards the inside of his boat, but instead, he removed his sandals, and crawled under the table. There, he waited patiently.

The Vietnamese man's golden eyes widened when he could hear something bump against the edge of his ship – some sort of weight. He carefully poked his head out to the side and was shocked at what he was seeing.

There was a tanned arm that was picking at his tinned tomatoes.

"Hey!"

Antonio himself believed that the human had returned back inside to possibly get more interesting things and wouldn't come out for a while. He was only trying to get some of these interesting red blobs on the white plate and see what they were like, and show them to Kiku, but he then heard that familiar deep and low voice call out in surprise.

Immediately, the red-tailed merman tried to quickly retreat back into the ocean…

…only for the human to grab his wrist in an iron hold.

Antonio gave a startled squeak as his tail submerged underwater while something was tightly squeezing at his wrist. He instantly clamped onto the thing that was holding him, when he was horrified yet amazed to feel slightly callous skin.

Looking up, his widened emerald orbs were met with cold, glassy golden ones.

Quan gazed down at the person he caught – to say he was surprised was an understatement. No, he was downright _astonished _to see a tanned young man leaning on the edge of his boat. The Vietnamese man was wondering _how_ the young man was even able to come out here in the middle of the ocean – he was a fair amount of kilometres away from dry land.

However, he would ask those questions later. Instead, he asked, "Who are you, and _why_ are you stealing food from me?"

Antonio's eyes were the size of the plates that Quan had brought out; his mouth was flapping up and down as he tried to string some words together. The red-tailed merman was trembling at having a serious and stern, icy glare directed down on him – the human looked far from impressed that he was being stolen from.

The Vietnamese man waited for an answer; his patience starting to wear thin. However, before he could say anything; threaten to report him to the police, the mystery man was babbling rapidly at him.

Except…he wasn't speaking English.

"_L-lo siento_!" he gibbered, face filled with absolute panic as he blubbered on. "_Yo siento mucho_!_ No fue mi intención_! _Me parece interesante_! _Lo siento, perdoname por favor_!"

Quan's head was spinning at being thrown foreign words, which he had no clue what they meant. The Vietnamese man rubbed his temple with his free hand and shook his head, raising it as a signal for the strange, tanned man to stop jabbering for once and be quiet. "I don't speak…Spanish? Portuguese?" he remarked. "Whatever you're speaking…I can't understand you."

"I-I mean…" Antonio flushed as he wriggled a little, reasonably nervous. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to take your things…"

Seeing the sincerity glimmer in those emerald orbs as well as how anxious and (somewhat) frightened he looked, Quan's face slightly softened. The Vietnamese man spoke up, "Well…you could've just told me you were hungry; I'm perfectly fine with sharing."

"You're…not angry with me?" Antonio asked softly, eyes widening a bit more.

Quan shook his head, "No, I'm not. Just…rather weirded out. Now, why don't you come on board and we can discuss as to _why _you were taking food without my permission." He pulled only slightly on the man's wrist, when the man shook his head, looking more frantic.

"No! I mean; no, I don't think that's a good idea," Antonio said sheepishly, forcing a smile on his face.

The Vietnamese man arched an eyebrow, "And why not?"

"Um…." Antonio did not know what to say here; what _could _he say? He tried to think of an excuse to tell him, but it took him too long.

Quan sighed and shook his head, instead choosing to heave him onto his boat with all his might. Antonio gave a shocked, surprised squeal while the Vietnamese man himself gave a startled cry after he succeeded on pulling him onto his boat. Because Antonio didn't expect Quan to just pull him aboard straight away, he wasn't able to pull back in time, and so, was instead, pulled along.

They both landed on the boat with a heavy thump.

And Antonio realized that the human who held his heart was _right below him_.

Quan himself was deaf to the immediate apologies that were shot right at him as Antonio to rolled off of him. However, when he sat up to rub his head and soothe the throbbing pain in his temples, his eyes caught sight of something that made his jaw drop.

'_A red tail with golden fins…!'_

Antonio was honestly not sure of what was going to happen to him; Quan saw him, and the red-tailed merman was at his mercy on his boat. From observing him numerous times, Antonio saw that the Vietnamese man was rather quick on his own two legs, and on a flat surface with no water, he could easily catch him. There was a tiny ray of hope that the human he dreamed about wasn't going to be like the humans from all the stories he heard from; where they killed merpeople, strung their tails, kept them in cramped spaces called _'cages'_—

"You're…you're a merman…" Quan noted in a statement, rather than in a question.

Antonio stopped talking for a moment. He then backed up slightly until his back hit against the edge of the boat. The red-tailed merman gave a slow nod, "_S-si_…I mean, yes. Yes, I'm a merman."

"I…see…" Quan was still rather amazed at what he was seeing before him; a live, full-bodied merman with a shimmering red tail and glittering golden fins who was spouting some Latin language at him. The Vietnamese man was very much shocked that his built-up assumption was correct. From after reading those books of rare fish species and reaching that dead end upon seeing that _nothing _matched with the tail he had seen and carved, he was frustrated at first, but upon thinking more about it, Quan felt a thought strike him.

What if the creature was…supposedly not real in documents?

Which led him to look at books about mythological sea animals; he had better luck with those books. And, after checking out and inspecting numerous books about mythological and fantasy sea creatures, the Vietnamese man saw a picture that looked very similar to that of the tail he's seen before, and the one he carved.

It was a far-fetched guess, which was why Quan didn't tell anybody about it; they would call him crazy, certainly. He himself had his own doubts, however the more he read about it and looked at his little, miniature copy as well as recall his near-death experience, the more he believed that it truly _was _a mer-creature that rescued him.

And right now, with this red-tailed merman in front of him, his hunch was proven correct.

But he looked so scared and nervous right now.

'_Is he…afraid of me?' _wondered the Vietnamese man, his golden eyes widening slightly at the notion. _'I'm not going to hurt him._' He crouched on all fours and carefully crawled closer. Seeing the merman's figure tense, Quan shook his head as he spoke in a calm and soft voice, "Don't worry…I'm not going to hurt you…"

Antonio's heart fluttered again upon hearing that tone of voice again; the one he was accustomed to hearing. The red-tailed merman gazed at the human and saw that he no longer looked upset, but rather more calmed down again. That little, tiny ray of hope was starting to shine more brightly as Antonio gave a small smile, "Honestly, I know."

Quan was perplexed, "You…know?"

"You're a good person," explained Antonio. "I saw you during the storm; you insisted that everyone else was off before you. Even that big-nosed animal."

Quan narrowed his eyes slightly, but it wasn't out of annoyance; rather more out of pondering. Seeing the red-tailed merman look less frightened, he nodded, then murmured, upon remembering that he mentioned about seeing him during the storm, "You…were the one who saved me…"

Antonio didn't say anything, but seeing his face brighten considerably more upon being remembered, he instantly nodded, "_Si_! Yes, I did."

Quan's shoulders relaxed as he continued gazing at the merman before him. The Vietnamese man came that little bit closer, and though the red-tailed merman shifted a little, he didn't attempt to escape from him. Staring at him, he absorbed his features, and straight away, they were matching with the little fragmented pieces he remembered upon being semi-conscious.

The messy, tousled hair, the emerald eyes, the smile…

No doubt, this wasn't a joke.

But was it a dream?

Quan stretched his hand out to see if it really was or wasn't; he was exceedingly tired nowadays, after all. Maybe he nodded off and was in the middle of a whimsical, fantasy dream.

Antonio's breath hitched into his throat when his human's hand was brought out forward. Time seemed to slow down when his hand settled upon his head. The red-tailed merman's heart skipped a beat when he could feel his long, spindly fingers comb through his hair. Antonio softly shut his eyes and lowered his head, pleasant tingles running down his spine and down his tail upon the tender contact.

The Vietnamese man himself was pleasantly shocked to see that this truly _wasn't_ a dream; it was reality. And this merman had soft hair; his fingers were combing easily through the locks of the dark, chocolate-coloured hair. When the information finally settled within his being, Quan swallowed a sudden lump that appeared in his throat, before he asked, "Would…would you still like to eat?"

Antonio's eyes slowly opened as he gazed at the human opposite him. The red-tailed merman then decided to take a chance to ask rather sheepishly, and with a scarlet face, "Can…we eat at the beach together? Over there?" Antonio pointed to the beach that was near the cluster of white rocks where he hid behind to watch his object of affection before.

Quan's face was blank as he considered the request. Upon glancing at an anticipative light in the bright green orbs, the Vietnamese man gave a snort, though the corners of his lips twitched upward. He replied, "You know what? That sounds quite nice, actually…"

To say that Antonio was happy was an understatement; he was completely _ecstatic_.

They met up at the beach – Antonio swam to the shore while Quan commandeered his boat to the docks nearby his home, which was reasonably close to the beach that he and the merman arranged to meet up at.

And there was where they conversed and spent time together.

Antonio was intrigued with all of the odd fruits that he had taken, which he discovered really _were _used for eating. When he took them from out of his now sagging pouch, Quan would tell him what they were, and show him how to eat them. The curved, yellow fruit for instance, the red-tailed merman discovered, had an outer skin that had to be peeled off before eating the soft inner core.

It was very sweet and soft.

Quan himself was quite enjoying this experience. It was rather amusing to see Antonio instantly light up and become eager at the simplest of things. It also intrigued him; to know that there really _was _such a thing as merpeople. Of course, the Vietnamese man knew that this _definitely _had to be kept a secret; there were a bunch of greedy people out there who would try anything for money and the name of science.

Why would people even do such a thing, Quan knew not. As he glanced at the merman's tail, which was shimmering beautifully with the sun's rays glittering down on it, the Vietnamese man couldn't help but admire the well-defined curve that connected Antonio's upper torso to his tail, and how rich the colour was. The merman happily let him touch his tail, though both of their faces were understandably flushing.

Quan ran his hand gently across Antonio's tail, admiring how smooth yet slightly bumpy it was. He frowned at the thought of someone trying to dissect it open or trap him in a cage.

'_You're safe with me.'_

The time between the pair became so short all of a sudden; before they knew it, the sun was already setting behind the horizon, painting the sky with tints and hues of orange, gold and pink, as well as some light blue.

Antonio sighed, "So _this _is what a sunset is like in the human world?"

Quan gave a snort, golden eyes with a little spark to them, "It would look more different if you came into the house." He then tilted his head, "Speaking of house; don't you have a home of your own to get to?"

Antonio frowned lightly, not wanting this moment to be over. He was finally able to spend time and contact with the one who held his heart, and the red-tailed merman was delighted upon discovering that Quan broke all those assumptions and stereotypes that everyone back home had placed upon humans. Instead of being cruel, merciless and manic, Quan was calm, considerate and seemed more relaxed.

"You have family and friends to get to, right?" Quan questioned, though he was admittedly disappointed at seeing his saviour and new friend go. "Night will come soon; I suspect they'll be missing you…"

Antonio nodded with a sigh, his heart clenching slightly at leaving his human, "_Si_…you're right on that one." He reluctantly began heaving his body to the water as he bit his bottom lip, gazing at Quan; _really _not wanting to leave him.

Quan however, assumed something else. "You don't have to worry," he reassured. "I won't tell anyone about you. You have my word."

Antonio blinked, "_Qué_? Oh! No, no…it's not that, it's just…I would like to meet up with you again."

The Vietnamese man blinked, a bit surprised to hear that come from someone who could breathe underwater and possibly travel the entire world without means of transport. Spend time with a simple human? Nevertheless, seeing the eager look on the merman's face, Quan shrugged and gave a nod, "I'd like that, too, honestly. How about we meet here again tomorrow? Close to sunset.

A grin instantly spread out on Antonio's face, "Oh, yes! Yes! I can't wait! I'd really love that!"

Quan couldn't help but feel the corners of his lips twitch upwards upon seeing the bright sight right before him. The Vietnamese man stood up from his place after giving another nod, "Very well, tomorrow it is, then. I'll be seeing you."

"_Si_! See you!"

Before taking a step, though, Quan stopped and realized something. He turned his head around and called after the already retreating merman, "Wait! Hold on." Seeing the red-tailed merman stop and turn to face him, the Vietnamese man asked, "I never caught your name."

"Oh…" Antonio beamed. "I'm Antonio!"

"Antonio…" Quan repeated, the name smoothly rolling on his tongue. The red-tailed merman liked how his name sounded on the human's mouth. The Vietnamese man nodded as he jerked a thumb at himself, "I am Quan. It's an honour to meet you."

"You, too!" called Antonio. "I'll see you tomorrow!" he waved vigorously at his direction and dived underwater, flashing his red tail before submerging it underneath.

Quan watched him leave before departing himself homeward bound, the events that happened just then replaying in his mind.

By the time he came into his house, he was surprised upon seeing in the hallway mirror that his lips were actually curved up slightly to form a smile.

* * *

_And the chapter is concluded. I shall work on the next one, but I have to do some other things, first. TTnTT well, anyway, the guessing is still open just in case somebody else wants to put a guess, but I'll close it when the person is finally revealed, which is actually the next chapter or the one after that. :)_

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? I hope you have a nice day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	8. Sun Beams Melting the Ice

_Greetings all - HetaWriter/HetaReader here with another chapter brought to you. :)_

_I won't waste any more time, so I shall just say a BIG thanks to **Lucy's Wonderland Madness **and **Madam Platypus **for the reviews. :D  
_

**_Lucy's Wonderland Madness:_**_ Yes, they met. =^^= I'm glad I was able to capture the sadness for that beginning - it's important, actually. Ahaha, you already read Chopsticks? I'm quite honoured that you chose to read my works, actually. ^^' thank you!_

**_Madam Platypus: _**_Oh, really? Thank you very much - that is a very lovely compliment (and a big deal for me ^.^') haha, if you don't want to guess, then t's fine. :)_

_Let's continue~ __  
_

* * *

The next day, Emma, Gilbert, Francis and Lovino noticed that there was something rather different about their red-tailed friend.

Antonio seemed even happier than usual, if that was even possible; he would swim, rippling and swaying his body around as he did his duty, though he seemed to work faster and faster. As a result, he finished much earlier than what he usually did, and so, as a result, he spent some earlier time with them. However, with that earlier time the red-tailed merman came to them, he would leave so quickly after; he would say he had something else to do, and before they could protest, he quickly shot away in a blurry trail of bubbles.

He wouldn't stop humming that same song as well.

"Anyone notice something's off with Toni nowadays?" Gilbert inquired one day as he and the others were watching said merman carefully. "Or is it just the awesome me?"

"_Non_, _non_, _mon ami_," Francis shook his head, his blonde tresses splaying softly around as he shook his head in agreement. "It is not just you – _Antoine _certainly is acting rather strange now…"

"Wonder what's up with that bastard," wondered Lovino as he arched an eyebrow at seeing a bright beam instantly spread out across his tanned face as he gazed at a piece of gold fleck that he had in his humble little home. A strange, wandering yearning located in his usually cheery emerald orbs.

Emma could only nod; her whole attention focused on Antonio with a worried expression.

Lovino noticed that she looked exceedingly concerned for him, and felt something tremble painfully from within his chest. The prince however didn't bother to say anything about it; he simply gazed at the mermaid with a serious expression, but with narrowed hazel eyes with a saddened tone.

The days passed by, dragging very nastily to all of them, but the main difference was that Antonio was facing it with a big, bright smile while they were facing it on a rather uncomfortable inward grimace.

One day, when they swam onward and, though Francis and Gilbert tried to engage everyone in a pleasant conversation like before, it was obvious to see that the atmosphere was starting to tense despite the fact that one of their three other friends seemed like he was swimming in high, crystal waters although he _was _at least talking to them. Lovino had tried to partake in the conversation himself, but the more Emma was paying attention to the oblivious and weirdly acting red-tail, the more frustrated his bubbling emotions from within him grew. Emma herself had a nagging feeling as to why Antonio was acting so strangely in this way, but she squashed the notion as it continued to come to light.

The tension was broken when Antonio chirped, "I'm sorry, _mi amigos_, but I have to go now!"

"Wait!" Emma called before the merman could swim away. When he turned to give her a questioning gaze, she swallowed the burning assumption that gathered from within as she asked, "Toni, where _are_ you even going nowadays?

Antonio blinked at his friend's question, but not at the question itself, but the rather accusing tone she placed upon it. The red-tailed merman shook his head, deciding firmly that that was part of his imagination as he responded with the same, warm smile on his face, "Just swimming around; I have something _really _important to do. I'm really sorry, guys, but this is really something I have to do. _Adios_, _mi amigos_! I'll see you later! I'll make it up to you, I swear!"

And with that, before they could stop him, he swam away in another great hurry. It seemed as if he was getting faster and faster nowadays.

Antonio himself knew that it wasn't nice to just leave so abruptly that one time, but really, this truly _was _important to him. The excitement swelled from within him, his streamlined figure swimming in determination towards the beach.

And upon popping his head out from underneath, the red-tailed merman glanced around and saw the Vietnamese man pacing in patient steps on the beach's sandy shore. He stretched out his tanned arm and excitedly waved out his hand at him; how they always did now.

"Quan!" Antonio grinned; he couldn't help but find his human's serious expression as he waited for him to be absolutely adorable.

When Quan heard his name being called, and also catching sight of something from the corner of his sharp golden eyes, he instantly snapped his head up, and, upon catching sight of the smiling merman, his whole visage seemed to brighten at once, and his spirits were uplifted. With that, he immediately came to the water's edge at once, just as Antonio was heaving himself out of the water to crawl up to him.

The Vietnamese man planted himself, on the warm sand as Antonio rolled around and seated himself beside him. He then began going through a satchel that was slung over his shoulder, fumbling for something from within.

Naturally, this caused Antonio to fidget about eagerly; his emerald eyes sparkling with absolute excitement as he leaned a bit closer to get a proper view.

It was now a common daily occurrence for Antonio and Quan to have these meetings – they would sit for hours on the beach's golden sands, either watching nature and admiring her beauty while placing themselves in occasional small talk, or indulging each other with pieces of their worlds.

Remembering the piece of gold fleck in his own little pouch, Antonio fumbled around for it, but for some reason, his fingers were being rather clumsy as they slipped around for it.

When he _was _finally able to grab hold of it between his fingers and take it out from the little sack, as well as other things from his home, he saw that Quan had pulled out a few things already from his satchel.

Whenever Antonio caught sight of objects from Quan's world, he would give a little _'oooh!'_ in fascination as he came even closer to take a better look at them.

Admittedly, at first, when Antonio came really close; practically _leaning _on against him, the Vietnamese man instantly tensed on the spot, and turn to face him, his golden orbs starting to gain an icy glass as he stared down at him. However, the first time that Quan did this to Antonio, he, upon gazing down at the red-tailed merman's shy and embarrassed face as well as detecting flecks of nervousness and slight feat in those emerald eyes, stopped and recollected himself.

The times afterward, Quan, though he still tensed and stiffened upon Antonio coming _very _close to him, was able to calm down a reasonable amount of time after. The Vietnamese man didn't want the red-tailed merman to be afraid of him; he wanted him to trust him and be reassured that he was in a safe environment. He had saved him from drowning, after all – another reason for him to show more common courtesy to him.

Antonio however could see that Quan seemed to have a problem with close contact seeing as how his body became rigid. The red-tailed merman always wondered why, but he never questioned about the Vietnamese man's personal life; only absorbing the fragments and tid-bits that Quan himself chose to say.

The red-tailed merman, though he loved hearing and learning about all the things that Quan had shown him from the human world, loved hearing the most about the Vietnamese man's own life; it allowed him to know about him even more.

And honestly, Antonio fell deeper and deeper the more he learned about him.

"Oh! I know what that is!" said Antonio excitedly as he pointed at a familiar object that was in Quan's hand.

Quan arched an eyebrow, quite surprised, "Really? You've seen this before?"

"_Si_!" Antonio nodded vigorously. "Yes, I do!" he took hold of it as Quan gave a shrug, thought the little gleam in those golden eyes was unmistakeable.

The Vietnamese man was picking up another object when he turned to see that his merman companion was suddenly combing at his mocha-coloured locks with it. Immediately, Quan's face fell onto a blank upon the sight; it was amusing and unanticipated at the same time. But then again, considering that Antonio was not from his parts, it shouldn't be a surprise to him.

But even then…

"What are you doing?" inquired Quan.

"Huh?" Antonio stopped, confused as to why his human looked confused. "W-why? Am I doing it wrong…?"

"You…pretty much are," agreed the Vietnamese man. He stopped the red-tailed merman from combing his hair with it, and took hold of it as he explained, "We don't use a fork as a comb."

"Fork?" questioned Antonio. Seeing Quan nod, the merman's eyes widened as he asked in a bit of a quieter voice, "O-oh…then what _do _you use it for?"

"This, actually," Quan stabbed plump, red fruit with the fork and brought it to his mouth. "Pretty much."

"Oh…" Antonio blushed embarrassedly; here he was, thinking this thing was a comb. He must've looked so stupid. "_Lo…lo siento_…"

"Why are you sorry?" asked Quan. "You didn't know what it was; when I was a child, I didn't know what it was, either. I honestly thought it was a weapon used to poke at people who annoyed me."

"Really?"

The Vietnamese man nodded, "Yeah. Whenever my cousin, Kasem, would chatter and chatter on, I remembered that I used to jab and poke his leg and his side with this. He'd then whine at me, _'Stop it! Stop it!'_, but since I was a child, and most children are obnoxious, I persisted in doing it. Then I remembered one time, I poked him a bit _too _many times; he then cried for our grandma and begged her to switch places. I remember I had a gained quite a scolding from that."

Antonio instantly cheered up upon hearing Quan share some fond memories. He chuckled, "Aww…that sounds so cute! You must've been a very cute child."

Though it was definitely meant to be a compliment, Quan couldn't help but feel his face redden at that. Really, whenever it came to looks and appearances, he would try to change the subject quickly – he was never good with it, and in all honesty, he didn't really find himself that attractive, either. He gained a few compliments here and there, but he felt that they were just saying that out of respect – he knew he was sharp-faced, lanky bodied, and he had large hands and feet, while his fingers were spider-like. He was very plain-looking in his opinion.

He always hated it whenever someone wanted a photo with him; he truly wasn't photogenic.

Yet whenever Antonio showered him with affectionate compliments, Quan couldn't help but detect the sincerity in those words. Though he tried to disregard the merman's compliments, a piece of him wanted to desperately believe him and just absorb those words.

The more he spent time with Antonio, however, he found that the great walls that used to surround him were slowly melting down. And soon, Quan himself wanted time to rush by during his day, to which when the time came, the Vietnamese man would swiftly make his way to the beach to wait for his companion in silently repressed eagerness.

"This is a tomato," Quan said as he showed the plump, red fruit in his hand. "Something we eat." He offered it to Antonio, who took it and sniffed it curiously. The Vietnamese man was about to take out a knife to cut it into pieces, when he saw the merman instantly bite down on it.

Then, to his amazement, Antonio exclaimed after swallowing it, with a relished expression on his face, "_Muy delicioso_! It's so good!"

Quan blinked, recovering from that; did people actually ever eat tomatoes like that? He knew not, but he was glad that he brought another tomato as Antonio was easily able to gulp it down. Watching the merman eagerly eat the red fruit with that satiated expression, Quan couldn't help but find a small smile ghost over his usually stern face.

Antonio always was able to brighten him.

* * *

Pretty quickly, the days had started to morph into months – and soon enough, Quan found that he was looking at five months on the calendar.

'_So quickly how time flies,' _the Vietnamese man thought to himself as he made his way to the beach as per usual to find that Antonio had come early. He was met with a welcoming, warm smile and upon feeling something start to rise from within, he couldn't help but feel his lips twitch upward.

Quan himself actually found that he began feeling anxious whenever Antonio seemed later than usual. The Vietnamese man discovered that though he was able to finally sleep properly and peacefully, the red-tailed merman was now in his dreams; swimming gracefully, curving his well-defined figure, and beaming that beautiful, bright and warm smile right at him.

The Vietnamese man had always wondered why Antonio had chosen to pay his attention onto him; he wasn't interesting, nor was he even the most pure-hearted and kindest person around. He was rather blunt, stern and plain.

And here was someone who had an appearance and body that most men would envy over, and for women to pine after.

"Oooh! What is that?" Antonio inquired, his bright green eyes twinkling as he pointed at what appeared to be a necklace with a strange, little sphere attached to it. He was even more mesmerized at hearing a tinkling little sound come from the strange object.

"A collar," responded Quan, amused as usual at the child-like zeal that the merman expressed. He found it pleasantly funny how Antonio had a body that would befit that of an Adonis, yet he was so childish and naïve.

"Collar?"

The Vietnamese man nodded, "We put these on our pets. It's so that when they get lost, we can find them."

"Oh! Because of that little sound!" Antonio marvelled as he took hold of it. He poked the little, silver bell with that same captivated expression that made Quan's eyes glow, "_Muy bueno_…"

"Wait…what are you doing?" Quan asked, staring incredulously as Antonio, after peering at it with a contemplating look on his face, suddenly began putting it around his own neck. "H-hold on…!"

Antonio beamed as he was able to somehow put the collar on himself. Surprisingly, the thing fit on him, however, considering the fact that Ivan was a large cat, it should've really been no surprise. "There!" the red-tailed merman declared proudly. "So you can find me!"

"W-what…?" Quan stammered, unable to form proper words. In all honesty, gazing at Antonio, who was smiling with that innocent expression on his face, the Vietnamese man couldn't help but think that the merman looked quite cute with it on—

'_N-no! Just…_no. _What am I even thinking?'_ he thought to himself irritably. He rubbed at his temples, trying hard to regain himself. The Vietnamese man next shook his head, his face instantly taking a scarlet hue that dusted on his cheekbones at the thought. He visibly appeared embarrassed and a very horrified with himself for thinking of such a thing. As a result, he rubbed at his face, wanting desperately for it to stop taking heat before Antonio could notice.

Unfortunately, the red-tailed merman _did _notice, and he was concerned as a result. He shifted himself closer to his human and questioned, "Quan, are you alright? Your face is kind of red…"

Quan gave a cough as he tried to regain his composure as quickly as he could; honestly, for some reason, he became more and more flustered around him. "D-don't worry, I'm fine…just, please. Take that off," he grumbled in reply. "Like I said before; only pets can wear those; you certainly are _not_ my pet."

Antonio could see that Quan seemed set off about something, which promptly led him to take it off at once; if there was only one thing that the merman was scared of when it came to his human, it was making him upset.

The thought caused him to tremble; he didn't want Quan to be upset with him – what if he never wanted to talk or see him again? The red-tailed merman couldn't bear the thought of his human not communicating with him anymore, and it caused an intense pain to shoot up from the bottom of his heart.

Likewise, when Quan noticed how quiet and nervous looking Antonio was, the human would apologize for his conduct; knowing fully well that his tongue was capable of cutting. It was odd to him, since he used to not care how sharp and blunt he was before…

However, the thought of hurting his companion caused the Vietnamese man to recoil and flinch in pain. The sheer thought of Antonio fleeing from him, never to greet him with his lovely smile and warmth again, caused pieces of the man's heart to start chipping away.

And honestly, it scared him; Quan remembered that the last time he felt such intense pain in his heart, it happened, what seemed to him anyway, in a time long ago.

He didn't know why he was so scared at the thought of Antonio leaving him…

At first.

* * *

"I have something very special to show you today," Quan said to Antonio the next day.

This caused Antonio to be even more excited; he was wondering just what his human had that was so special. It was definitely a big deal if Quan considered this item to be special.

After all, the Vietnamese man was special to him.

"Here," Quan was able to carefully pull it out from his back. When the object came into view, Antonio's heart immediately began to flutter and swell as soon as he caught sight of it. The merman's breath was caught into his throat as he gazed at it.

"That's…"

"Hm?" the Vietnamese man arched his eyebrow as he positioned his _đàn nhị_ in a comfortable spot. "What is it, Antonio?"

"That instrument," Antonio breathed his eyes now glimmering. "I've heard you play."

Quan reddened a little, "Oh…really now?"

"_Si_!" Antonio nodded. "You're amazing."

The Vietnamese man reddened in pleasure at the compliment; whenever it came to something _other _than his appearance, he accepted them much better. And honestly, playing this cherished instrument from his beloved hometown was one of those things that made his heart swell in pride whenever someone praised and admired him for that. "I'll gladly play a song for you," Quan said, though he was astounded at detecting just a _tiny _tremble in his usually composed voice.

However, Antonio didn't seem to detect it at all. Instead, the merman's eyes instantly lit up and he nodded vigorously, "Oh, yes! _Por favor_, I would love to hear you play!"

And so, that was how that one sunset suddenly transformed into a magical, beautiful experience for the two. Quan's skilful hand slid the bow gracefully along the strings while his thin fingers expertly held and pressed against the upper parts of them, at once summoning forth the haunting, enchanting melodies that vibrated into Antonio's ears, causing his heart to skip a beat and his entire being to melt.

Soon, Antonio found himself singing; his mouth slowly dropping open as he projected his lovely voice forth. Quan's own heart instantly skipped a beat when he heard that strong, lilting tenor-alto voice come forth. It was strong at some points, matching in perfect harmony with Quan's melody, and became softer at the appropriate parts as well. Antonio smiled a little as he sang, but he had a melancholic look to his figure, that befitted Quan's nostalgic tune.

The gorgeous music fell on only the ears of the ones performing, and the more they heard from the other, the deeper they both fell.

Upon completion of their performance, Quan gave a deep exhale, his whole body relaxed, but his heart thumped rapidly upon gazing more closely at his companion opposite him.

He found himself admiring just about every detail on the merman.

The little crinkles at the corners of his eyes to signify his smile reached the very cores of those emerald orbs and showed his sincerity; the way his dark, chocolate-coloured locks framed around his face and appeared messy and tousled, yet natural all at the same time; how his skin glowed in that exotic hue of tan; how full of life his toned chest was breathing, the slender yet slightly chiselled arm; and finally, that absolutely gorgeous tail of bright scarlet where the sun's rays only added to its beauty by bouncing off the scales and shining onto the golden fins…

Quan shut his eyes, now realizing why he felt such pain and panic at the thought of Antonio leaving him now.

'_After I promised myself before…I just couldn't help it…'_

"Quan?" Antonio asked, worried at the lack of response his human was giving him. "Quan…what's wrong, _mi hermosa_?"

The Vietnamese man slowly raised his head to face him, his face gradually melting into a small, little smile that Antonio could see clearly.

And it was the loveliest thing the merman had ever seen in his life.

Quan was usually so serious and solemn, however when he smiled…

"You have a beautiful smile," Antonio breathed, his trademark beam full of warmth. "It's lovely."

The Vietnamese man could feel himself blush at the compliment, however he couldn't help but give a little chuckle at that. He then looked up to face Antonio again, and finally chose to speak three little words to his precious companion.

"_**Anh yêu em**_**."**

Antonio blinked; confused at the words his human spoke; he was speaking that harsh, accented language he heard him yell several times in direction to his house when he came out of it before. The merman shook his head, "_Qué_? _Lo siento_, but…I don't understand what you are saying…"

Quan softly shut his eyes and gave a small hum; he figured it'd be best his companion not know what those three little words meant right now. It may possibly damage their friendship, and he definitely didn't want that happening. So instead, the Vietnamese man shook his head as he responded pleasantly, "Don't worry about it. Someday I'll tell you what those words mean."

The red-tailed merman nodded, the smile instantly returning to his face, and they carried on with what they usually did together.

As per usual.

* * *

Kasem, Mei, Yong Soo and Mathias realized that with the time passing by, the man of the house was actually recovering at a rapid rate.

Why he was recovering so quickly was beyond them, but he was suddenly much looser and happier around the house, and he began engaging himself even more in conversations, which put smiles on their faces.

He was also able to get more sufficient amounts of sleep nowadays, too. Though he still worked hard and engaged himself with the hands-on work, he was balancing things in proper proportions and was much calmer and gentler with handling both customers and employees. He also spent a sufficient amount of time in his workshop near the house, though everyone just assumed that it was his secondary hobby, which was keeping his mind at bay from the horrible memory of what happened to him before that had _caused _him to become so cold before in the first place.

For once, things felt like they were going back to normal.

After that event where he was truthful about his feelings to himself, Quan had finally finished an object he was working on for the past couple of days following that. After carving, painting and polishing it with the utmost care until he was satisfied with how it turned out, he brought it out to his beloved little boat again. He glared with annoyance at that previous sign that was marring its polished and sleek white surface with its chipped hide and worthless presence.

And it was time that he moved on from that, too.

No sooner had the sign finally start to come off the boat's end, like a leech yanked off of skin, with the help from some of his employees, when he heard that little sound that caused his usually calm self to have an enraged, bitter inner turmoil.

That giggling, high-pitched voice that continuously mocked him before.

Slowly inching his head around his shoulder, the Vietnamese man felt his heart stand still upon who was right before his figure. His honey-gold eyes widened as he stared in gaping incredulity.

"Miss me, kitten?"

* * *

_And yes, I had to end it here for now. It seems Quan's feeling much better now with Antonio in his life, but *gasp*! There seems to be a something that's threatening his shot at happiness and recovery. D8 this will be the last chapter people can take a guess on if they haven't already, since the answer will be revealed in the next one._

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	9. Varying Forms of Confrontation

_Hello all; HetaWriter/HetaReader with another chapter brought to you! :D_

_Anyway, a BIG thanks goes to **TearsMightDry **for the follow, and a BIG thanks also goes to **Lucy's Wonderland Madness **and **xXBlueSariaXx** for the reviews! :D_

**_Lucy's Wonderland Madness:_**_ Ah, thank you very much! =^^= well, here's the new chapter for you guys. ;) and again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing this piece! :D well, read in your own time; it is good to prioritize your work before my own work. Good luck! :D_

**_xXBlueSariaXx:_**_ Really? That truly is strange...well, the story is updated now, so let's just see if you get an alert this time, otherwise, I think it might be just the site acting strange. 0.0 haha, thank you - I'm still trying to get the hang of writing romantic pieces; it's still a reasonably new concept to me, especially writing shonen-ai. =^^= yes, indeed - trouble _is _coming. D8 and, crap! Thank you for pointing out another mistake for me. XD really, thank you for taking the time off to tell me of the mistakes I've done *updates it* :D_

_I am sailing~  
I am sailing~  
Home again cross the sea~_

* * *

Quan's honey-gold orbs were stretched to the point that the whites were starting to become visible. His whole slender figure became rigid as he stared, still not believing the sight of the girl that stood before him.

There was no doubt; the tanned skin, the dark locks of wavy hair that came to her shoulders, with a pair of sunglasses settled at the top. The American girl was wearing a darkly coloured bomber jacket, a white top that exposed her midriff from underneath, a pair of jean shorts, a necklace with a green stone on it, and laced boots.

The hot pink eyes that were filled with that confident and mischievous spark were _definitely_ unmistakeable.

'_Allie…?' _the Vietnamese man thought to himself as he finally regained his senses. He blinked and scowled lightly, his golden orbs immediately placing up the cold, glassy barrier he had built before turning his attention back to his employees, who continued with their work and switching the signs on their boss' boat. _'What the hell is _she _doing here?' _he wondered to himself.

Noticing the lack of response that she received, the American girl placed a hand on her hip as she walked over to him. "Ignoring me as soon as I come back?" she asked him, voice laced with mocking pain. "You're even colder than usual, kitten."

Quan didn't respond, however there was a vein that was throbbing in his temple, and the clenching of his jaw was enough for his employees to see that there was _definitely _something wrong going on. The Vietnamese kept his focus on his employees, so they don't damage the new sign he created with particular articulate care.

Plus, she meant _nothing_ to him anymore.

Of course, that didn't mean that he still lacked anger over what she had done to him before.

"Why you ignoring me?" Allie pouted as she came to his side and took a better look at his face. She rubbed her chin and gave a rather odd look of approval as she raised her head, "Wow…you've become even _hotter _than before, kitten." She then reached out one of her hands to stroke his face, but of course, Quan wouldn't have anything with that.

He moved his face away before her manicured claws could touch him; his hand clamped around her wrist.

Allie blinked in surprise at how he was reacting right now; he would've flushed out of embarrassment by now. He always did whenever she touched and caressed him; his face would've also reddened like a tomato, too. However, an impish smirk crept up her face as she gazed up at the Vietnamese man, "Well, now, this is new! Got some more spunk in you – wonder where it came from, kitten."

"Do _not _call me that," Quan murmured, his tone low and dangerous.

The American girl arched an eyebrow, "Why not? You used to _love _it."

"_Used _to," responded the Vietnamese man, his tone was calm, however his expression was absolutely murderous. The employees all had the suspicion that maybe with _one tiny little _mishap or slip of the tongue, and Quan would most likely snap her arm.

Honestly, some of them wouldn't blame him if he did it; they would sure as hell react in a similarly angered fashion if someone like that showed their face again.

"What? You don't like it anymore?" here, Allie gave a pout, jutting her bottom lip out as she gave him a pleading puppy face.

Quan knew that that little trick would've made him fully wrapped around her manicured claws, but of course, he learnt his lesson.

Oh, yeah, he learnt it _the hard way_.

However, she was still a lady, and Quan was taught to conduct himself in a calm, composed manner. And also, because it simply seemed…_wrong _to him to hit a woman. Even if she was a lowlife, cheating, deceitful little minx.

So with that, he let go of her wrist and responded, looking her right in the eye in bold defiance and with a sharp, frosty tone, "No. I do not like it. You have no right to call me that anymore, either; there is absolutely _nothing _between us anymore."

Allie rolled her eyes, "You're _so _uptight. Even more so than usual. But, I guess that's the downside to it, huh? You got hotter and more well-built; I see you're doing well with your business, and you seem to be doing fine. But to me, you'll always be my sweet, adorable little kitten." She flashed him a mischievous little smile as she fluttered her eyelashes at him, "_Always_."

Quan narrowed his golden eyes to dangerous slits, "And you'll always remain as a thorn in my foot."

Allie chuckled darkly, the smile growing wider on her tanned face, which unnerved the Vietnamese man, "You know, I'm quite digging this new side to you! You were _way _too submissive before; but lookie here! The boy's got bite now! Kitten's actually got a pair of claws on him! I _definitely _like."

"I don't," snorted Quan.

"Mr Nguyen!" one of his employees called. "You want us to put on the new sign now?"

Quan immediately snapped his attention back onto the three men and nodded, his expression immediately lightening upon the mention of the new sign. "Yes," he called. "I would love that, thank you. Just please, be _very _careful with it; I worked really hard on it."

His employees nodded as they commenced with placing and fitting the sign onto the boat's back end. They made sure to take extra care with it; they definitely didn't want their boss to be upset – for one thing, it looked like he really _did _work hard with the sign. The sign was made of wood, and it was finely carved; the edges were smoothened with sandpaper, so it was quite cool to touch, and the edges were curved expertly while the corners were pointed, but the design was intricate. There were three tomatoes drawn at the bottom left-hand corner, but they were engraved with complex patterns rather than just the simple red colour that they were.

However, what truly intrigued them was the name that was carved on it.

It was done in rather large, brush-like strokes; reflecting a calligraphically constructed hand, and it was painted in neat, even black ink – there was nothing going out of direction and looked scruffy, except for the ends of the letters, but that only attributed to the visible strokes, and the appeal to the sign.

_**Antonio**_

Of course, the employees wondered just _who _this Antonio was, and what sort of relationship he shared with their boss; for someone to have their name carved and tenderly done on a sign, and especially for Mr Nguyen to place on his boat, the person must've made great impact on him. However, they all knew better than to ask him about his personal life; their boss was never a social and open person – he was more reserved and quiet about himself, even _before _Allie came and made him into a mess.

Quan was immensely satisfied at seeing his new sign fitting perfectly at his boat's end. The Vietnamese man nodded in content, a small smile ghosting over his face as he called, "Good work; now steady on securing it…"

Allie frowned when her hot pink eyes fixated on the few sign that was fitted onto the boat. Her eyes were formed to venomous slits as she spoke up, "Replacing me? You know, that _really _cuts me, kitten…"

"I need to move on," Quan said firmly, his arms crossed over his chest. "That was in the way. And I have found that chance to be happy again."

"With this _'Antonio'_?" asked Allie incredulously, placing her hands on her hips. "Who the hell is he, anyway?"

Here, Quan's eyes darted over to her, furious flames dancing in his golden orbs, as he glared down at the annoyed American girl that was _seriously _dampening his spirits. "That is _none _of your business," he hissed coldly; one sharp and biting. As he glanced sideways at his employees, he was grateful that all of them flashed a thumbs-up to him; signifying that they were done with fixing the sign.

And with that, a smile really _did _form onto Quan's face.

Allie could only stare at him with a scrunched up expression, her eyes fixated on the sign that was replacing hers. She definitely wasn't lying when she said that Quan had became hotter; he really did: he wasn't as lanky as he was from before, and there seemed to be a determined flame that had ignited his usually calm and composed being – giving him a much sharper backbone.

His boat looked to be in proper condition still, and there were far more boats than she remembered last time. From his condition of wearing new clothes and looking well-fed, as well as his employees looking just as well-fed and fit as he was, it was definitely safe to assume that he was still doing fine financially.

He definitely seemed alright to her.

Before she could speak up, Quan had taken the old sign; her sign, and he arched an eyebrow at it, "So old and frayed…the wood's become soft and rotten." He then turned his gaze onto Allie, and though his eyes were still glowing hatefully at her direction, the angered flames shrunk in size as he regained his calm and composed demeanour. He bowed his head, "I apologize if I was rather sharp with you, but what you did before was just low. It hurt me a great deal. However, I'm doing far better now; and you know? I should thank you, too – if you hadn't done what you did to me years ago, I probably would not be the person I am today, nor would I have found the thing that I needed my whole life, either."

Allie could only blink in surprise as she watched his figure depart, still holding onto the old sign. The American girl narrowed her eyes again, becoming immensely suspicious at the words he uttered to her. '_That wasn't supposed to happen,' _she thought to herself as she rubbed at her chin. _'Looks like it'll take more than sweet talk to win him back…'_

* * *

Underwater, Antonio was humming to himself again, as per usual. He airily swam around as he twirled lightly, his elegantly curved body rippling along with the ocean's tide as he collected some kelp and seaweed for the merchant.

From the palace's high quarters, Lovino and Felicia were watching their red-tailed friend swim along, still overwhelmingly cheerful and chipper, yet dreaming.

"How is Antonio?" Felicia asked excitedly, her brown eyes sparkling enthusiastically. "Gilbert told me that he's in love! Is that true, _fratello_?"

Lovino sighed as he rubbed at his temple, "_Sí_…it's true, _sorella_…"

Felicia swooned as she hugged herself and giggled giddily, "Oh, _magnifico_! He has _finally _found someone to love!"

The prince shook his head, "There's more to the story, _sorella_." Seeing his younger sister turn her head to face him curiously, the merman explained in a hushed tone, "I trust you, _sorella_. But, you have to swear that you do _not _tell anyone about this – _especially _not to _papá. _Understand?"

Felicia frowned a little; she didn't like lying to their father, but she also definitely didn't want to disappoint her brother, so she nodded after a moment's thought and whispered, "You have my word, _fratello_. Now…why should I not tell _papá _about Antonio's love life?"

Lovino licked his lips as he looked around to see if their usually happy-go-lucky father and king of the kingdom was just swimming around. However, seeing that there was nobody around, the prince leaned closer to explain to his sister as to _why _they should _never _tell about it to king Romulus. By the time he finished explaining Antonio's case to Felicia, the prince was surprised to see his younger sister swoon even more and giggle a lot. The merman blinked, "What the hell is so funny, _sorella_?"

"Nothing's funny!" Felicia sighed dreamily. "But oh! It sounds _so _much like a forbidden love story! Antonio fell in love with a _male human_? That is just _so _romantic! So, has he been meeting up with him?"

"I suppose so," Lovino nodded. "You and I know how that bastard is when it comes to love; when he falls in love, he falls very damn _hard_. And when he's determined, there's not stopping him. He saved him after all, so I think the red-tailed bastard wants to maybe make sure that he's safe, too."

"But, is there no way for Antonio to become human?" questioned Felicia as she blinked. "I mean…"

"What?" Lovino asked, arching an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Before Felicia could respond, they both almost leapt up high in the air when they could hear a booming voice sing out uproariously, "Draw a circle, there's the world~! Draw a circle, there's the world~! Draw a circle, there's the world, I am king Romulus~!"

And that was when their father had swam inside, chuckling merrily like a young merboy. He grinned warmly at catching sight of his two precious children and immediately swam right at them, enveloping the both of them in his strong, muscled arms. He laughed joyously; this great, deeply tanned man with messy dark brown hair that consisted of wild curls (one on the upper right side of his head, and another at the lower left side). A crown sat upon his head, and his tail was the colour of scaly molten gold as well as having strong, red fins. He was also holding a powerful trident that had a single red ruby.

"How are my precious babies?" he beamed.

Felicia giggled, "We're fine, _papá_. Just talking about the kingdom, that's all."

Here, the older merman was delighted, his twinkling amber eyes fixated onto Lovino, "Ahh~ how wonderful! I am overjoyed to see you both interested with the kingdom! Especially you, Lovino! You are going to be a handsome and cool king like me someday! I can't wait for that day to happen!"

Lovino squirmed uncomfortably, "_Papá_…"

"Still so modest, Lovi~" chuckled Romulus as he ruffled his son's hair proudly. "You'll make a wonderful king! Well, I shall leave you both to it! I have some work around to do…" he sighed dramatically as he rubbed his head. "It _really _can bring a merman down, but well, with power comes responsibility. So, _ciao_ the both of you~!" and with that, after Felicia and Lovino bid him goodbye for now, the great king was singing happily to himself as he left the room.

Lovino glanced out to the kingdom, and his attention was caught upon catching sight of a familiar mermaid swim cautiously after Antonio's retreating figure, which was heading to the coral reefs.

'_Emma…'_

"_Sorella_," Lovino spoke up. "I need to go for a moment, but don't worry about me. I'll be back soon." And with that, he swam away as quickly as he could; out of the palace and leaving a rather surprise Felicia behind.

Emma was swimming as softly and as quietly as she could; wanting to see Antonio, and hopefully talk to him about the _'human problem'_, however, she could never find the opportunity to speak to him as he had always swam off rather quickly; disappearing from sight.

'_Probably to see that human again…'_ she thought to herself in a saddened tone that was traced with hints of bitterness. She continued swimming quietly after him, but was surprised to see that Antonio was gathering a few pieces of coral into that little pouch that he always wore around his shoulder. He would always put simple objects in there, to which Emma had a growing suspicion as to why, but wouldn't really know without evidence and confirmation.

Right now, Antonio was humming a new song; this new one was sad-sounding, but at the same time, it was sweet and hopeful. The red-tailed merman stopped swimming as he lowered himself to the colourful array of coral.

Upon closer inspection, Emma could also see that he was also holding a sea flower, the yellow petals unmistakeable. After finishing his little hum of the new song, he then lightly swayed his head to the left as he blinked down at the sea flower in his fingers. Next, he gently tugged at one of the petals, picking it off.

"_Me quiere_…" he said with a softer variant of his sunny smile etched on his face. He released the petal, causing it to float quietly in the sea's great expanse. He then gently picked off another petal and gave an annoyed scowl as he peered down at it, "_No me quiere_…" he let go of it again, letting it float away. He then gave a delighted gasp as he peered down at the last petal remaining on the flower, "_Me quiere_!"

"You know, you really should stop talking crazily…"

Antonio snapped his head around and saw Emma swimming over to him, forming her arms over her bosom. "Oh, Emma, _mi amiga_," the red-tailed merman piped up, smiling back on his face, but it wasn't the love-filled, tender one that he wore before. "_Hola_!" he then sighed. "You know, you came at a _really _bad time; I have to go very soon."

Before he could swim away however, Emma took hold of his golden fins, tugging on them, prompting him to stop.

Antonio turned his head around, giving her a questioning look; especially because she looked so serious at this very moment, which was great change to her cheerful and bright self. "Emma? Is something wrong, _mi amiga_?" he inquired innocently.

"Toni…" Emma sighed she rubbed her temples. "You really need to stop keeping your head in the clouds and place it back in the water where it belongs."

Antonio blinked, "_Qué_? I don't understand what you mean…"

"_Down here_," said Emma, her voice raised impatiently. "_This _is your home."

The red-tailed merman nodded, "_Si_, I know that, and…?"

"Antonio," Emma gave an exasperated sigh. "You're seeing that human still, are you? Even when I advised you not to?"

Here, Antonio's smile disappeared from his face; this was a touchy subject underwater, and honestly, he wished that it wasn't. Humans weren't so bad; not at all. So, that was why the red-tailed merman nodded as he responded, "Yes, I am seeing him still. And I'm going to see him again, actually."

"Antonio," Emma shook her head, losing patience towards her friend. "You _have _to stop seeing him; it's dangerous! You might not only be exiled, but you could get in a _heap _of trouble. Humans aren't nice creatures; they take so much from the ocean: fish, water and other things, and they're destructive! They place all kinds of junk into the ocean, and they're cruel—"

"You're _wrong_!"

Emma's pale green eyes widened at the sudden raise of voice that the red-tailed merman had used against her. Antonio himself was surprised with his own elevated tone, but really, all of those biting words weren't true in the slightest; what did she know, anyway? Has she ever met a human? Has she ever spoken to one and have had the pleasure to know one? No, the red-tailed merman was certain of that.

"Quan is nothing at all _like _that," responded Antonio, his voice now partaking a sharp tone. "You're wrong; _dead _wrong. He's nice, calm, considerate, and he cares about me! Kiku also met with a human before, too! A _female _human, and from how he talks about her; she's the nicest person he's ever met! You don't have the right to judge them so quickly just because people say so; what if they're wrong?"

Emma scoffed, not caring how harsh she was becoming towards the merman who captured her heart, just as long as it snapped him out of his dangerous, delusional feelings. "You'll see! Humans _are _dangerous; I know that they are! Some spilled this disgusting liquid in the ocean; my brother is all sickly because of it! It's the humans' fault that some of us merpeople are so ill! Do you remember how Lars was _before _the sludge spill?!"

Antonio licked his lips as he nodded, looking quite sorrowful as he recounted the event, "Oh, yes…I would never be able to forget that…I lost my parents, too…"

Emma nodded, "See? Humans _are _cruel creatures…"

"Not Quan," Antonio shook his head. "He would _never _do anything to harm me."

"And how would you know that?" asked Emma, exasperated again. "How can you be so sure that he won't hurt you?"

"I _know_ him!" declared Antonio protectively, his emerald orbs were blaring flames. "And he won't _ever_ do that; he's not capable of doing that! Sure, he's stern and serious most of the time," here, his face softened to a more fond and affectionate expression as he continued, "And he's a bit awkward when it comes to close contact, but he is very kind; he is thoughtful, patient and gentle."

"Toni…" Emma shook her head every time the red-tailed merman spoke about the human so lovingly. Her feelings were reaching a fever-pitch as the furious effects of envy had settled within her being. "You're blinded by your love! Trust me; someday, he _will _show his true colours to you, and you'll see that he's not as gentle and kind as you think-"

"Shut up!" snapped Antonio, his anger and passionate feelings taking hold of his mind. The more he thought about his human, the more definite he felt that his human was incapable of doing such a thing to him, which just increased his anger when the mermaid before him continued to insist that he was a bad person, when he obviously wasn't. The red-tailed merman seethed, "You know nothing about my feelings, and you know nothing about what Quan and I share! You don't have the right to judge him! He doesn't judge you!"

How the argument escalated so quickly was unknown to both Antonio and Emma, however, they were now shouting and screaming angrily at each other. Emma had leaned forward as she yelled her point over and over again that humans were dangerous specimens; Antonio would one day pay the price for associating himself with one. The red-tailed merman defended his human fiercely; biting sharply at the mermaid whenever she took a bite out of him; he insistently argued back that his human would _never _do such a thing to purposely harm him.

"Antonio! I only say this because I care about you!" cried Emma. "I care about you a lot! Can't you see that?!"

Antonio shook his head with a sigh, "You have a funny way of showing it…" and with that, he swam away, not before murmuring in a much gentler tone, "_Lo siento_, Emma…I know that you only care for my well-being, but…you have to trust me on this one. Quan won't ever hurt me. Now, he's waiting for me, and I don't want to keep him waiting. _Adios_, _mi amiga_."

Emma could only watch his form leave as she rubbed at her own forehead, a pang of pain shooting up her heart as Antonio's declarations of love towards the male human continuously reverberated in her head.

She could feel her eyes water, starting to obscure her vision, and almost shed tears, when she heard a voice call her name softly.

"Emma?"

Looking up with a sniff, she saw a familiar face peer down at her with concerned hazel eyes. That bobbing curl was definitely distinctive

"Lovino," she responded. "How long were you there for?"

The prince sighed, "Just enough to know what the hell was going on. The blonde bastard and the albino freak were with me; they're going after Antonio – they think it's going far now." Lovino shook his head, "But, really…I don't see a point in trying, anymore…"

Emma gazed at him incredulously, "W-what…?!"

"Like blue-tailed and albino bastard said before," Lovino said, trying to keep his voice levelled. "When red-tailed bastard gets _really _in love with something, he won't hold back, nor will he just drop it easily. It's useless to argue with him. Really, we should just leave things as it is and just respect his damn stupid wish. It's damn stupid that he wants to go after a human, but we should just leave it be."

The mermaid could only gape at the young prince, not believing what she was hearing. "You…are you _serious_?!" she shrieked. "_That's _your solution?! Just leave him to pursue after a human?!"

"Well, you certainly weren't making any progress with him," snorted Lovino, somehow maintaining his calm composure as he scowled at Emma. "He now wants to be with that human even more. Also, can't you see how much he wants that human? He pines after him day after day and sings that same fucking song over and _over _again! You'd be damn stupid to not see how much he loves that human."

"At least _I _care about him!" yelled Emma, frustrated with how disastrous things were becoming to her. "You don't seem to care about him at all! You always insult and treat him so harshly! You're so cruel, ruthless and mean to him! Sometimes I even wonder if you truly _are_ his friend!"

Before Lovino could counteract, the mermaid swam hurriedly away, the glistening tears now leaking from her pale green eyes. The prince wanted to desperately swim after her, but he knew that whenever Emma was distressed or upset, it was better to leave her alone to recollect her thoughts.

Even so, watching her go…it caused a large crack to take shape into his heart from the hurtful words she said about him, as well as how much she seemed to obviously care about the red-tailed merman.

Meanwhile, Antonio's body was rippling along the ocean's tides as he made his way closer and closer to the beach. He felt much calmer now that he was much nearer to his human where he could tell his problems to; he always told his human what was wrong whenever he had a down day or a strange thought, and there, his human would listen closely and offer sage words of advice that _actually _worked.

He wanted to talk to and see him.

However, before he could get to the beach, he could hear bubbles froth from behind him as he could see, from the corner of his eyes, two forms approach him.

Two very familiar forms.

"_Antoine_!"

"Toni! Stop for a moment! Wait up!"

Antonio complied, choosing to stop just this once to talk to his friends. The red-tailed merman turned to face them, wondering if they were here to argue with him, too. "_Mi amigos_," he said. "_Hola_."

"We really…need…to…talk…!" gasped Francis in between pants as he rubbed at his elegant looking tail. "_Mon dieu_! That was the fastest I have ever swam before, _mon ami_!"

"Ain't our fault you're so unfit," Gilbert snorted. He ignored the blonde's glaring daggers and said to Antonio, "But, _ja_, he's right; we really _do _need to talk."

"Talk?" Antonio asked, now wary. "What about?"

"About your human."

"What about him?" the red-tailed merman questioned feeling agitated. "Are you here to tell me that I shouldn't be with him, too?"

"There is that, _mon ami_," Francis said as gently as he could; raising your voice and speaking harshly at Antonio had a rather adversary affect. "But, we have something else to discuss to you about…"

"And that is…?"

"Well, you're spending less time with us, for one thing," Gilbert said coldly. "You're lessening your time with us in favour for this damn human!"

"This _'damn human'_ is the one I love, Gilbert!" snapped Antonio. "I _love_ him!"

"Have you lost your senses _completely_?!" shouted Gilbert, getting impatient with his friend's behaviour. "Do you even _hear _yourself talking?! _He's_ a _fucking human_! _You're _a _fucking merman_!"

"I don't care," Antonio said coldly. "I love him, and I'm going to tell him today that I do."

This time, Francis spoke up, "_Antoine_, here I must put my tail down. It was fine at first for you to crush and fantasize over that human; I admit, he is _very _attractive, however Gilbert is right – can you hear yourself right now? Confessing your feelings, _you_ a _merman_, to a _human_. What if he rejects you? And what if he says _oui_? What will you both do then?"

Antonio shook his head vigorously; sure, it was risky and dangerous, but for Quan…the red-tailed merman felt that he could do _anything _for him. He then tried to talk as evenly as he could to them, but the tremble in his voice was definitely detectable, "I thought friends were supposed to stick up for each other and respect each other's wishes…"

"Not if you're tackling in a stupid decision," said Gilbert, voice still serious and cold. "You're practically _putting _yourself in a doomed relationship, Toni…" the albino shook his head as he crossed his chiselled arms over his muscular chest as he turned his back to his red-tailed friend, "We tried to convince you that it's a bad idea, but I guess it's pointless – you're too thick-headed. But, guess what? I don't care anymore – it's your life, and if you want to throw it all away for some unawesome human, then that's _your _problem. Just leave me out of it!"

Francis simply looked back and forth between his two friends, unsure of what to say now – he _wanted _to back up Gilbert since it was obvious to them that Antonio was placing himself in a potentially dangerous relationship…but on the other hand, the blue-eyed merman wanted to believe Antonio that this human that he rescued was the right one for him; since Francis was an avid fan of love and believed that everyone had their loved one out there somewhere. Plus, Antonio was strong and passionate – his emotions running deep; it would be difficult to near impossible to get him to stop.

But before he finally found his voice again, Antonio was gone.

* * *

The sun was already setting, but Quan still remained at the beach, sitting at the golden sands as he watched the beautiful event before him.

Sure, it happened every day, but it was never old to the Vietnamese man. It could never get old even if it tried.

He just wished that there was someone to share it with…

"Quan…"

The Vietnamese man's heart immediately skipped a beat when he could see Antonio's form emerge from the salty waters. At once, he got up and stepped forward, helping him out of the sea, and pulled him towards himself. "You came," the man said with a soft smile settling on his face.

Antonio nodded, "_Si_, of course I would."

Quan then blinked, realizing that the red-tailed merman wasn't his usual cheerful self, at that moment. His head was bowed and his emerald eyes were filled with grief and anger; his tanned face was exhausted and worn out, and the merman was panting slightly, gasping for breath. "Antonio…is there something wrong?" the Vietnamese man questioned in soft concern. "You don't look so well…"

"I…" Antonio bit his bottom lip. And suddenly, before Quan knew it, the red-tailed merman launched himself forward, wrapping his arms around him, engulfing him in a warm embrace.

Quan was heavily taken aback at the unexpected bout of contact, but upon the tender hold he was placed into, the Vietnamese man's form eventually relaxed as he slowly brought his own arms up and returned the hug; bringing him even closer.

Antonio simply relaxed in his human's hold, feeling much better held in the Vietnamese man's strong arms. He gave a quiet sigh as he nuzzled his head close to the man's nape as he softly shut his emerald eyes, his once aching heart now restored.

They didn't know how long they were holding each other for, but once Quan had grown a bit uncomfortable with his back aching in his position, they separated, to which prompted the Vietnamese man to speak, "Tell me; what's wrong?"

Antonio nodded, "Yes…"

Quan listened in calculating silence; closely holding onto the words that the merman was saying to him. Antonio had said that he had gotten into a nasty argument with his friends…and _he _was the cause. The Vietnamese man felt very uncomfortable at being the reason as to why the red-tailed merman was so upset, but Antonio insisted that he shouldn't be blaming himself.

"They don't understand how I feel…" the red-tailed merman murmured. "They don't understand…"

"And…just how _do _you feel?" questioned Quan as he brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his slender arms around them.

Antonio rubbed at the back of his head, his fingers running through his mocha-coloured hair, "To be honest…I…" the red-tailed merman swallowed the lump that had magically appeared in his throat as he gazed at his human, who was so close, yet so far from him. It was now or never; he _had _to take the chance to tell him how he truly felt about him. However, he wanted to know how the human felt about him, first, but how would he be able to do that?

After wracking his brain for a bit, the red-tailed merman was able to finally think of something. "Quan," he said. "Can I ask you something?"

Noticing the uncharacteristically nervous and anticipated expression on the merman's face, caused a scowl to furrow down on Quan's own. The Vietnamese man had picked a few stones from the beach and began skipping them on the ocean's wide, blue mass, however he shifted his attention onto his companion. "Of course," he responded. "Now, what is it?"

Antonio looked hesitant at first, but the merman wanted to know…he just wanted to know; that one event before with the collar had raised the important question, and the time he spent with Quan, as well as the human himself, were the most precious memories to the red-tailed merman.

"Take your time," Quan said gently as he picked up another stone and tossed it at the sea, causing it to bounce a few times before sinking. "Collect yourself first."

"_Si_, okay," Antonio nodded. After finally taking a deep breath, the red-tailed merman finally shot his question forth:

"_**What do you think of me?"**_

Quan stopped from skipping another stone as his ears picked up on the question. The Vietnamese man turned his whole body around to face the now anxious looking merman. His honey-gold orbs slightly widening at the unexpected inquiry. He opened his mouth a few times since Antonio expected an answer, however, Quan knew that he had to tread _very _carefully here.

He was afraid that there would be a day where something he said would possibly cause Antonio to flee and never return, and today was possibly that day.

"What brought this up?" Quan asked in response, using his answering question as a distraction to find the right words.

Antonio licked his lips as he replied, "It's just…I remember that one time when you brought that collar; you looked really angry. Then you said that I wasn't your pet; I'm just wondering what you think of me, that's all."

"Why?" the Vietnamese man gave him a look of disbelief at the bringing up of that event. "Do you _want _me to look at you as a pet?"

"_Qué_? No!" Antonio blushed furiously as he squawked. "No! No, no, that's not what I meant – you just seemed so against that thought, it made me wonder just _what _am I to you." Seeing that his human still looked highly incredulous, the merman explained further, "The time we've spent together…it's been the best time of my life. And…I just wanted to know; what do you think of me?"

The Vietnamese man stared down at his companion, and, upon seeing the sincerity in those innocent emerald eyes, and the awaiting, anxious expression, Quan sighed as he rubbed his head, unsure of what to say here – just, what _could _he say?

However, that little question was answered from the rapid pace his heart partook the more he fixated his gaze at the merman he cared so much about. And, as his face became hotter and redder the more he stared at him; coupled with the blossoming feelings that bloomed from within his being, as well as his thumping heart…he knew, that this was the perfect chance to risk it all and tell the merman how he truly felt about him.

'_Now or never…'_

"You want to know how I truly feel about you?" asked Quan calmly. "Truly and seriously?"

Antonio nodded, "_Si_. I really do!"

The Vietnamese man sighed as he leaned back, "Remember the day when we performed together? I spoke three words to you that you didn't understand?"

The red-tailed merman scrunched his face up into a thinking expression as he recalled that particular event. He nodded again, "_Si_! I remember that. Um…an you em?"

Quan chuckled lightly at his beloved companion's attempt to speak his home language, "_Anh yêu em_."

"_Si_! That. What _does _it mean?" the merman wondered. "I'd really like to know how to speak your language. So, tell me."

"This is the last time I'll ask you," Quan said calmly. "Are you sure you want to know what those three words mean?"

"Yes," Antonio nodded. "_Por favor_, just tell me! I _really _and _truly _want to know what those words mean. So, just tell me already, Quan-!"

"I love you."

Here, Antonio's heart stopped; his whole figure froze upon hearing the three word that came out from his human's mouth. The red-tailed merman's emerald eyes widened as he gazed at him, unsure if he heard him correctly. "_Q…Qué…_?" he asked softly, desperately hoping that what he heard wasn't false.

Quan heaved a sigh as he rubbed at his temple with his index finger. However, he lifted his head and settled his honey-gold orbs on the merman; they were filled with a sudden warmth, and a quiet, calm cool. "I. Love. You," he said more clearly and in a much more audible voice than before; enunciating the three words. Seeing the shocked expression on Antonio's face, the Vietnamese man continued to speak in the calmest voice he could muster, though it took great strength to control it from trembling, "The past days spending time with you…it has been the best days of my life, too. If it weren't for you, I'd probably take longer to recover from…_something _that happened long time ago. I simply couldn't get you out of my head, and you haunted my dreams; I would always wonder how you are and what if you're okay – the thought of you getting hurt…" he swallowed the lump that knocked into his throat at the thought.

"Q-Quan…" the red-tailed merman murmured, his breath hitched into his throat..

"Please, let me continue" the Vietnamese man raised a hand, signalling that he still had more to say. "I know…that it's odd, but these feelings…I cannot deny them. They burn so brightly whenever I'm with you, and they're just…overpowering. If you cannot accept them, then, please; at least let us continue to have these meetings together and be friends. I don't think I can bear the thought of losing you…"

Antonio shook his head wildly, to which Quan became rigid as a shiver shot down his spine, but before the Vietnamese man's unusually fragile heart could shatter into pieces again, the red-tailed merman threw himself on him again, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling into his neck.

Quan was immensely shocked by the action until his beloved companion responded.

"Quan…_te amo_! I love you, too!" Antonio declared out loud in an honest, earnest voice filled with passion. "I love you so much…I don't want to ever stop talking or being with you." He leaned back and smiled warmly at his human, "You were always the thing that was on my mind; and honestly, I always worry about you, too – is he okay? Is he getting plenty of time for his _siestas_? Is he eating enough tomatoes? Whenever I was away from you…it just hurt so much…"

The Vietnamese man gave a content sigh as the smile stretched out onto his face, "It hurts me, too when we're apart…" he shook his head and gazed at the darkening sky; noticing that the beautiful multitude of colours that splashed the sky were now being painted over by a new layer of darker blues.

Their daily time together was almost up.

"If only…" Quan mumbled quietly. "If only you can stay in my house and live with me…I would be more than glad to have you live with me…"

Then suddenly, Antonio snapped his head back up, his emerald eyes were shining as an idea formulated in his head. The next question he asked was definitely something that the Vietnamese man didn't expect.

"Well…why not? Can I?"

* * *

_I am sailing stormy waters~  
To be near you~  
To be free~_

_And thus, the chapter draws to a close. How will this all turn out? Will Quan and Antonio's newly found relationship work out? What obstacles will they face? Well...I better go work on the next chapter, and at the same time, work on the person's request who won the little guessing competition on to who "Allie" is._

_[Character/s Introduced]:  
Allie [2P!Nyo!America]_

_What 2P!Nyo!America even looks like to those who are wondering = hetalia. kitawiki images/1 / 14/ 2PNyotaliaAmerica. jpg (remove the spaces)_

_I warned you guys that there was both Nyotalia _and _2P!talia, so here's the start of it. I needed a villain, and using an OC was sloppy in my opinion. Plus, it was stated that though the 2P!talia characters have no given personalities, Himaruya-sama stated that he drew them as though they ran an evil organization, so I felt more relaxed at seeing the 2P!talia characters. If I need an explicit villain, I can use 2P!talia characters, however, it's not because I dislike them, not at all - I find them quite intriguing, actually, and I'm intrigued with seeing Himaruya-sama's quotation about them being from an evil organization. :)_

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	10. The Aria Ends With the Descant's Start

_Greetings to you guys, HetaWriter/HetaReader here - another chapter for you! :D_

_Well, let's not waste any time now, shall we? A BIG thanks goes to **xXBlueSariaXx, Madam Platypus **and **Guest** for the reviews! 8D_

**_xXBlueSariaXx:_**_ I'm glad to see that your alert now works. :) I think it was just the site screwing up. ^_^' and again, thank you very much. :D well, despite that, they _will _try hard to make it work. Quan is quite clever for one thing, and though he's a bit air-headed, I think Antonio would know better than to just poke around on human land, since he'd be at a disadvantage unless there was a body of water. :)_

**_Madam Platypus:_**_ Yup, I used 2P!talia, and honestly, I am getting pretty fond of them...much like how I'm fond of every other nation in Nyotalia and Hetalia. XD again, thank you very much for the compliment! :D yes, it is quite sad, isn't it? However, they _will _try to make it work despite that. ;) ahh, which Little Mermaid songs do you have in your head? I remember I couldn't get Les Poissens out of my head for a while. XD _

**_Guest:_**_ Thank you for finding it cute! I'm glad you enjoyed it! =^^=_

_Onward we shall go!_

* * *

Quan blinked at the red-tailed merman, unsure if he heard him correctly. He shook his head; did Antonio seriously just ask to live with him right now?

No…that can't be right.

"I think it's just the nice feeling of the moment," the Vietnamese man said. "But for a moment, I could've sworn you just asked if you could live with me…"

However, to Quan's surprise, Antonio didn't laugh and call him crazy; he was keeping his steady emerald eyes on him. They were glowing with soft and firm flames.

"You…were being serious?" inquired the Vietnamese man, his golden eyes widening.

Antonio nodded, "_Si_. I'm being _dead _serious." Catching sight of Quan's shocked expression, the red-tailed merman continued, "I really want to stay by your side; you can't breathe underwater, so why don't I just move into your home? I can breathe perfectly fine up here at the surface-"

"Antonio…" Quan interrupted, deciding that now was the time that he put his foot down. "I love you, and I know that you love me, but stop for a moment. Can you _seriously _hear what you're saying right now? Live with me? _Really_?"

The merman's face furrowed down to a scowl; the orbs of green fire were unwavering as he nodded, "Yes, I can hear what I'm saying, and I already told you; I am _dead _serious. I want to live with and stay with you, Quan. _Te amo_."

Quan shook his head, "No."

"Why not?"

The Vietnamese man now kept a stern look down at the merman, "Merpeople are not a sight in a human's daily life. Seeing you…it'd cause a lot of questions and unwanted attention. Antonio…there are people out there who are capable of doing horrible things. It's actually not an uncommon place for humans to act in a despicable way; I definitely don't want anything happening to you."

Here, Antonio shook his head, though a small, sunny smile graced his features, "You don't have to worry about that one, _mi amor_; I can definitely fend for myself."

Quan quirked a pencil-thin eyebrow up, "On land?"

Antonio nodded, "I can still hit things with my tail!" he then added, "Plus, I know that you'll be there to protect me, too."

The Vietnamese man's cheeks were burst into flames as they also coloured scarlet. He cleared his throat, trying to gain back his serious, stern composure, "Ahem…yes, I definitely _will _protect you the best that I can. However, please…just consider as to what you're saying; your friends told you that the human world is dangerous – that definitely isn't a lie. People are capable of destructive things. What someone so capable of such nasty things…I don't want to imagine what they'd do to you if they saw and found you…"

"What _would _they do to me?" asked Antonio, rather curious; he wanted to see if the claims that the merfolk back underwater would proclaim about humans. Seeing the hardened look and how stiff his human became, the red-tailed merman urged, "Please, just tell me. I need to know."

Quan swallowed the lump in his throat, but instead of responding, he shook his head, "No…it's too horrible."

"Quan—"

"Please, don't make me have to think up various scenarios that would end up with you getting hurt or killed…"

Antonio's emerald eyes widened at the last word. "K…_killed_…?" he squeaked.

Quan nodded, "Still want to live with me? Here in this screwed up world? It sounds like a nice, democratic place where you live, but up here…it can get really unlawful. People are known to kill each other for no reason whatsoever."

"But the town and home you described to me," spoke up Antonio. "They all sound so nice and considerate; I'm positive things won't be so bad."

"It's just this town," interjected Quan sharply. "Yes, most of the people here are nice and considerate, however, a lot of visitors come here; _they _would be the problem."

"Then, we'll just look out for them!" piped up Antonio, now beaming that radiant smile widely. "There! Problem solved! I can lie with you, _mi tesero_!"

Quan heaved a heavy sigh, "Problem _not _solved. Even if you justify that point, you forget one _very _important thing that prevents you from staying with me…"

Antonio blinked, looking utterly perplexed, "And…that is…?" he asked innocently.

The Vietnamese man rubbed his temples, but couldn't help the little chuckle that rumbled in his throat; the merman was so naïve…it was quite cute in his opinion. He then reached a hand out and gently stroked the glistening red scales of Antonio's tail. "_This_…though it is so beautiful; it is that beauty that will draw horrible people to you…"

Antonio's breath had hitched into his throat when his human had started caressing his tail; he liked it whenever he did that. The merman looked up again and shook his head, "Then…we'll just hide my tail!"

'_He's so optimistic…'_ Quan inwardly sighed as he gazed at his companion. _'It's not a bad thing, but…'_ the Vietnamese man then stared back down at Antonio's tail, "How will we hid it, though? It's rather hard to hide something large…"

Antonio looked at his human with an expression etched with hope, "Do you maybe have something in the human world that can help conceal my tail? Cover it up?"

Quan was close to arguing back that, _no_; he didn't have anything to cover up the merman's tail, but when he opened his mouth, the question, _'cover it up' _replayed in his mind. The Vietnamese man blinked and looked away, his mind suddenly snapped into a momentary blank as he sat in a thinking position; how he was when he had to ponder deeply to solve a problem.

And he tended to be good at solving problems.

'_Cover…cover…cover…'_ he thought to himself as he rubbed his chin, staring pointedly at Antonio's tail. _'Cover…'_

The merman blinked at his human, unsure as to what he was thinking. Antonio knew that Quan was clever and cunning; one of the many things he admired about him. However, the merman wished that he could catch on as to what was running through the human's mind right now.

"I think…" Quan hesitated. "I think I have found a way for you to cover your tail. _And _to get you around."

Antonio's eyes immediately sparkled, "_Really_?! You have!"

The Vietnamese man gave a slow nod as he straightened himself on the golden sands and patted Antonio's tail fondly, "When you said _'cover'_, it made me think of a blanket."

"Blanket?" Antonio questioned, looking highly curious.

"It's something humans use to keep warm when we go and sleep," answered Quan. "However, it is also used to cover up things, too. I think…I may have a blanket that's large enough to cover your tail. Transporting you around…" he said slowly as his sharp mind continued to tick, "I have a wheelchair that's still in the garage."

"Wheelchair?" the merman looked excited at hearing some new human contraptions.

"A thing that people use when we can't walk," replied the Vietnamese man. He patted at his right calf. "I broke my leg badly before. I was on a wheelchair for a good several months."

"That's horrible!" exclaimed Antonio. "What happened? How did you break your leg?" the merman looked down at his own tail and shuddered at the thought of not being able to move his tail anymore. If a mermaid or merman broke their tail…they were, simply put, vulnerable and probably stricken to their home for the rest of their life.

"Yes, well," Quan stretched out his leg. "It's perfectly fine, now. The doctor said I could keep it just in case. And now, I see it's going to be put up for good use again…" the glow in his golden eyes then extinguished as a scowl replaced the motivated expression that was on his face. He then leaned down again in the same thinking position, rubbing his chin again, "Hmm…"

"What's wrong, Quan?" asked Antonio, concerned with his human; he _really_ wished he could think of something to help assist him with his moving arrangements right now.

"The final problem…" Quan said slowly. "Is my family…"

Antonio nodded in understanding, "Ahh, yes…they still don't know anything about me, do they?" he couldn't help but feel a great pang of disappointment.

"Yes, they don't," answered the Vietnamese man. "I'm not sure how they'll take this…"

"But you told me many things about them, too," replied Antonio. "You said how they're the closest family you have." He kept going when the Vietnamese man's honey-gold orbs simply darted to the side to look at him, "And it really sounds like you care deeply for them, and that they care for you, too – I remember during the storm; your sister didn't want to leave you on the boat…"

Quan's eyes wandered to the ocean, his eyes now tinted with fond hues as he gave a small chortle, "Mei isn't my sister; she is my cousin. However, she definitely is like a sister to me…"

Antonio nodded, "_Si_, see? Also you said many stories about your other cousins – Kasem and Yog Sue?"

The Vietnamese man laughed at his companion's attempt to pronounce the more Asian sounding name, "_Yong Soo_. But, yes…they truly do care…" he sighed as he leaned forward, his knees brought up to his chest as he rested his chin on his arms, "And I worried them when I was…feeling really down…"

The red-tailed merman shifted himself closer as he leaned against him, "Well…you can tell me anything, too, _mi corazón._" He placed both hands on his human's face and gently tugged him around to face him, "I am all ears."

Quan knew that his face must've exploded by now; staring at those beautiful, sincere orbs of grass green, and the inviting, welcoming smile…his head swam, and his heart swelled joyously just by taking sight of the merman before him. A small smile ghosted his face, however, he gently took Antonio's hands off of his face as he said in a quiet, yet gentle voice, "I truly appreciate that. However…believe it or not; I still don't feel inclined to telling anyone about it…"

Antonio nodded in understanding, instead opting to lay his head on his human's shoulder, "That's okay; it is your business, after all. Just know that I am here."

As he stared down at the merman who was lying on him, the Vietnamese man felt a sudden, wild flame burst into his whole being; bright and burning with determination.

It was a risky move, but if lady luck was truly with the both of them, then it will work out.

'_Besides…who said that love was easy?' _he thought to himself before speaking up, "You know…you're allowed to go and see your friends and home again…but maybe…you should say goodbye, first?"

Antonio nodded, "_Si_. I _should _say goodbye. However, I don't think I will be going back anymore."

Here, Quan looked astonished, "Why? Don't you like it there anymore? Was someone being nasty to you?"

The red-tailed merman gave a little laugh, "No, no, it's not that. It's just…rules of humans are strict, and the consequences are harsh; the king knows nothing about my meetings with you. But if he did, then I would no doubt, be exiled from his kingdom…"

"_Exiled_?" Quan echoed. "So…you are…exiling yourself?"

Antonio gave a merry chuckle as he leaned even closer, feeling quite comfortable against Quan's shoulder, "I guess you can say that, _mi amor_. But…you do have a point. _Si_, I _will _say goodbye to my friends before I leave."

"You should," responded Quan. "They have the right to know, and you should pack some of your mementos, too."

"I'll do that," smiled Antonio.

* * *

And so it was, that Antonio returned back into the kingdom of King Romulus. But the next day, after he was packing a few things, he had swam around to get Emma, Gilbert, Francis and Lovino, also telling him that Felicia could come along, too, if she wanted.

However, strangely enough on that day – Felicia was nowhere to be found.

Antonio didn't have the time to wait for her, though – he and Quan had arranged to meet at sunset, where the merman could finally move into his home.

And honestly, though it was painful to leave his friends behind and say goodbye, the merman's heart swelled also in excitement at the thought of living with the one he loved, and starting a new life with him in a new and different world he could only dream of living in before.

They were all in the grotto now.

"So…guess this is it, huh, Toni?" Gilbert asked, his voice low and stoic. His face was solemn and serious; his crimson orbs narrowed down to dangerous slits. "You're gonna live with him, huh? That human?"

Antonio nodded, feeling slightly awkward at how out of character his white-haired friend was acting right now. "_Si_," he answered back. "Quan and I have made plans; I'll be able to live with him. He said that he would cover up my tail with a blanket or two, and I'll be able to move around on land with a wheelchair."

"What the hell's a wheelchair?" questioned Lovino with an arch of the eyebrow.

The red-tailed merman chuckled, "Honestly, I don't know…but it sounds amazing, doesn't it?"

"Well…you always were more interested and intrigued in the way of the humans than us, _mon ami_," sighed Francis. He swam forward and kissed both of his best friend's cheeks as he bowed his head respectfully, "It is still a dangerous move, but…since I am one of your closest friends, I will respect your choice – this human truly _does _sound like he cares about you a great deal. And, well who am I to tell you that you should not pursue your love?"

Antonio smiled warmly as he hugged his blue-tailed friend, "_Muchas gracias_, Francis. Thank you so much for understanding."

"For once," Lovino spoke up with a sigh as he blew some strands of bangs out from his hazel eye. "I agree with blue-tailed bastard," he jerked a thumb in Francis' direction. "It's _your _choice, and your business. That freaking human is your business. If you want to go and live with him, then fine; go for it. But don't be such a dumbass up in their world; it's not as friendly and peaceful like down here, red-tailed bastard…"

Antonio couldn't help but give a big, wide beam at the prince's words, "Aww, thanks, Lovi~" he then swam forward and engulfed the slightly smaller merman in a tight hug, "I'll really miss you~"

Lovino spluttered, "Fine! You'll miss me, now get the hell _off _of me!" he was able to shove the red-tailed merman off of him as he rolled his eyes.

"Emma…" Antonio said, this time turning his full attention onto the mermaid.

The said mermaid gave no response. She was clutching at one of her arms as her eyes lay onto the ground, refusing to look up at the red-tailed merman.

"Emma," Antonio pleaded. "Please…look at me?"

"Why do you have to go?"

"_Qué_?"

"You don't have to go you know!" spoke up Emma, now facing him. Much to Lovino's shock, there were tears that were already starting to form out of her pale green eyes, starting to join with the sea's salty waters. "You can just stay here! Stay here with us! With me…"

Antonio breathed, "Emma…?"

"Toni…" the mermaid shook her head as she immediately took hold of his hand, her eyes desperately pleading him not to go, "Antonio…I love you! I've loved you for _such _a long time, and it hurt so much to see you just go! So, please…" she then took embraced her arms around his torso, clinging tightly as if afraid that he would evaporate on the spot. "Please…" she started sobbing. "Don't go…don't leave…"

The red-tailed merman could only gaze down at the mermaid who had just cried a confession to him. Antonio's surprised face morphed into an uncharacteristically blank one for a moment. However, it was slowly melted into a gentle, caring one as he tenderly took hold of Emma's arms that were enveloped around him, and softly forced them off, so he was holding them.

"Emma," he said with a small, sad smile. "_Lo siento_, but I cannot reciprocate your feelings; I to me, you were one of my most trusted friends – one who I could always rely on and share my secrets with. It is so hard to find someone like that, to which, I will treasure that forever."

Francis gave a dramatic gasp as he placed a hand on his chest, "_Mon dieu_, that is rather hurtful, _Antoine_! What about me?"

"Please, stop crying," the red-tailed merman said in his soothing voice as he reached up his hand to brush away the ones that were forming at the corners. "I don't want to leave you sad…"

Emma sniffed as she gave a small hiccup; though her heart was screaming at her as it continuously ripped into thousands of pieces at the thought of Antonio leaving, and for somebody else, as well, the mermaid knew that it would be selfish to grab hold of him and force him to stay.

Antonio had the right to love, too.

The mermaid nodded as she wiped at her eyes with her arm, mustering up a brave smile as she nodded, "Y-yeah. Okay…I'm sorry."

Antonio shook his head, "_Don't _be sorry." He then leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, enfolding her in a great deal of warmth, "I'll really miss you, _mi amiga_…"

Emma nodded, "Likewise…" she then breathed in his lovely, fresh scent and combed her fingers through his mocha-coloured locks one last time with her eyes gently shut; preserving this memory before finally letting go of him.

And that left Gilbert.

The red-tailed merman swam up to his pale-haired friend and sheepishly scratched the back of it, not really knowing what to say. At first, Antonio thought that Gilbert would be the most lenient when it came to pursuing his feelings for a human since the albino merman was known for being a delinquent and breaking the rules.

However, Gilbert being rather against Antonio's daily meetings with Quan _did _come unsurprisingly as a shock.

"Gil…" the red-tailed merman began, only to be cut off sharply.

"Look, I don't wanna do shitty mushy goodbyes," Gilbert snapped hoarsely. "That just isn't my awesome style. However, what I _will _say is this; it's stupid to go and risk it all for a human – especially one that you've only known for a couple of months. But Francis and Lovino have a point – you love him a lot, and it seems like he really loves you, too. You can't just block off love."

Antonio felt himself tremble with emotion at hearing his friend's words, which naturally prompted him to burst forward and bring him into a hug. One that which Gilbert returned rather slowly. "_Muchas gracias_, Gilbert," the red-tailed merman smiled sincerely. "Really, that means a lot, coming from you."

Gilbert snorted, a smug smirk on his face, which made Antonio relax again, "Heh, well it's just my awesomeness. But just promise me one thing, okay, _mein freund_?"

Antonio nodded vigorously, "_Si_! Sure! _Anything_."

"Don't forget us, okay? And…just in case things _do _turn out wrong; just remember that you can come back home. Everyone here will welcome you; _definitely_."

The red-tailed merman nodded yet again as he turned to face all of his friends. They all looked saddened to see him go, but brave smiles were placed onto their faces so as not to worry the leaving merman, and, to instead, encourage him to keep going onward and not give up at this shot of love.

"I won't ever," declared Antonio. "How could I? You're all my best and closest friends; that is so precious to me, too." Gazing up to see glints of orange and gold shimmer slightly down from the surface, the red-tailed merman gave a deep breath, "Well…it's sunset now – my cue to leave." He waved at his friends, "_Adios_, _mi amigos _and _mi amiga_! You don't have to worry about me! And keep on smiling!"

With that, his strong, streamlined figure began swimming away to shore as he continued to wave goodbye to them.

Likewise, they all waved back at him as they called their own words of departure to him.

* * *

"Come on, _hyeong_!" whined Yong Soo as he fidgeted on the spot. "When's your boyfriend coming over?"

Quan's face instantly flushed at the word starting with the first consonant of the alphabet, however he shook his head and spoke sternly, "Be patient, Yong Soo; he'll be here any minute now."

"How exactly is he getting here?" Mei asked curiously as she looked around. "By bus? By cab? Car? Motorcycle?" she was hopeful with the last suggestion. The thought of her cousin's boyfriend riding a motorcycle made the Taiwanese girl inwardly swoon; guys on motorcycles were _really _hot in her opinion.

The Vietnamese man shook his head, "No, no, no and no, unfortunately." He gave an amused snort at the slight disappointment in Mei's expression.

"Then…how _is _he getting here?" his female cousin looked thoroughly confused now. "By boat?"

"No," responded her older cousin. "But you're very close."

Quan had brought out his three cousins to the spot where he and Antonio would meet up every day. The Vietnamese man revealed to them that the reason why he would return at later times during the day, and as to why he adjusted his work schedule to earlier times was to see a special someone. And not _just _a special someone; it was the one who saved him from the freak accident with the storm.

His cousins were ecstatic to find out that he was being more social, however, the next bit of news came as a much bigger shock to them.

Quan and his rescuer had apparently both developed _very _strong feelings for each other.

And, as a result, they both confessed only yesterday, and thus, began making arrangements for the Vietnamese man's lover to move in.

They were shocked at the fact that he was jumping so deeply into the relationship already; wouldn't a date go first? However, Yong Soo had been able to put forth the point that maybe Quan and his mystery man had already gone on a fair few during the number of months they spent time with each other.

"I can't wait to meet him, ana~" said Kasem, his light brown eyes twinkling in excitement from behind his clear glasses. "He sounds very nice!"

Quan nodded, a smile dusting over his features, "Indeed…he _is _really nice." He scanned the ocean to see any sign for his companion.

Yong Soo yawned, "So sleepy…_hyeong _why'd you also take out your old wheelchair?" he plopped himself on it, "Can't your new boyfriend walk?" he joked and laughed, however he immediately stopped upon looking at his older cousin's serious expression. The Korean boy gawked, "O-oh my God…I'm sorry, _hyeong_; I didn't mean it! I didn't know…"

Quan shook his head, "No, no, it's fine. It's just…well, you'll be in for a shock…"

"You keep telling us that, too," Mei gave a pout as she placed her hands on her hips. "Why, though? Is he deformed or abnormal or something? Quan-kun, we don't _care_ what he looks like; as long as he makes you happy, we're happy, too!" she flashed him a truthful smile.

"Mei is quite right there," agreed Kasem as he gave a warm beam to his cousin. "Quan, you know us; we don't really care."

"Just like when you came out of the closet," spoke up Yong Soo. "Err, well…_part _of it, anyway, since you swing both ways. We definitely don't care about your sexual orientation, and heck; if this guy's all burnt up or has warts or something, we wouldn't care! Because he's precious to _you_, da ze!"

Quan couldn't help but feel very touched with his family's approval despite not meeting with his lover yet. "I thank you very much for those words," the Vietnamese man said sincerely as he bowed his head to them. "However…this one…_will _be quite a shock to you."

"You dated _Allie_," said Mei as she rolled her brown eyes. "Nothing can be worse than her!"

Hearing a splash, the heads of the Asians snapped up. Especially at the bright, cheerful voice that called loudly, "Quan!"

The owner of that name gave a chuckle as he waved back at a rather handsome young tanned man with waves of chocolate-coloured hair and glowing green eyes, "He has now arrived." He then motioned for Yong Soo to get off the wheelchair, "I need that now."

The Korean boy quirked an eyebrow, "But, wait…I thought you said he can't walk! He's swimming perfectly up to us…"

Quan flashed his cousin a blank face, however there was no denying that glowing, mischievous (?) spark that danced in his honey-gold orbs. "I was correct; I said that he couldn't _walk_, when and where did I say that he couldn't _swim_?" he questioned.

"Wait, what?" Kasem blinked. "That…should technically be impossible; you need legs to swim _and _walk, ana~"

Mei smiled with a shrug, "He's really cute, though; nice choice, Quan-kun." She flashed him a thumbs-up, causing Yong Soo to roll his brown eyes. Naturally, this prompted her to stick out her tongue at him, where he also responded likewise. The Taiwanese girl however _did_ wonder as to how Quan's new love could move like that.

"Ohh!" Antonio chirped as his eyes sparkled at the wheelchair that Quan brought forth. "_That's _a wheelchair? _Muy bueno_…"

"Yes," Quan nodded, amused at seeing the fascinated expression on Antonio's face. "Now, let's get you on this thing."

"Wait, hold on, we'll help!" piped up Mei as she, Yong Soo and Kasem care forward. However, they stopped only a few steps forth on the golden beaches when Quan was able to carry his love onto the wheelchair, they could only stare in shock, astonishment and awe at what they were seeing.

A beautiful red tail with shimmering golden fins.

"_Hola_!" the owner of the tail beamed widely as he waved at them. "You must be Quan's cousins! He told me so much about you guys!" he jerked a thumb at himself, smile still present on his face. "_Me llamo _Antonio – it's nice to meet you!" he shot forth his hand, ready to shake.

They could only stare at his extended hand and his tail; looking back and forth at the two of them.

Quan couldn't help but feel both worried and entertained at the priceless expressions on his three cousins. The Vietnamese man simply grabbed the large blanket and placed it over Antonio's tail, tucking gently into the gaps and spaces until the merman's tail was on longer in view. He then laid another sheet over it to make it look like that Antonio simply couldn't walk like an old woman.

"It's so warm," the red-tailed merman marvelled as he shifted slightly in the spot. However, that caused some of the blanket to slip off a bit. "Oh no!" yelped Antonio.

Before Quan could pick up the bit of the fallen blanket, someone else had beaten him to it.

Yong Soo simply tucked it back into place, however he fixed it so that when Antonio moved around a bit, it wouldn't fall out again.

Quan arched an eyebrow at his younger cousin, but Antonio piped up, "_Muchas gracias_! I mean; thank you so much!"

The Korean boy simply nodded as he responded, "S'okay…after all; someone precious to _hyeong_…should be okay with us."

"That's perfectly true, _ana_~" agreed Kasem as he was able to plaster a smile on his face, however, Quan could easily detect the hint of nervousness that was there. "Now, why don't we all go home and I'll cook us all some dinner?"

The Vietnamese man blinked, but he bowed his head respectfully at his cousins again, "_Cám ơn_." However, before he could start wheeling Antonio to his house, Kasem stopped him.

"But, please, can you at _least _tell us how this even happened when we get home?" sighed the Thai man. "This is…quite a lot to sink in."

Quan nodded, "Definitely. I'll be glad to tell you the details at home. I'm sure Antonio would love to speak his perspective, too." And that was when he started wheeling the merman home, to which the said merman was crying in delight at moving quite smoothly without the use of his tail.

At seeing how animatedly their cousin was acting with the merman and how brighter and lighter the atmosphere suddenly became with the both of them, Kasem and Yong Soo exchanged looks.

"_Wow_…"

"I know…"

During that time, Mei couldn't help but keep her eyes on Antonio and her Vietnamese cousin the whole time, not paying attention as to what was being said around her. However, she could see that old flame that used to burn so vividly years ago burn back in full throttle when Quan was around Antonio. Even when he only spoke about the merman, the Vietnamese man seemed much more high-spirited.

The Taiwanese girl rubbed her chin as she nodded, an odd look of approval crossing over her face.

'_Boy, does Quan-kun know how to pick 'em!'_

* * *

"Okay, okay!" the bartender spoke up sternly. "That's enough already! You've drunken like..._seven _shots in a row! Come on! No more for you!"

"Noooo..." whined Mathias in a slurred speech as he made a grab for a whiskey bottle this time. "I want more! Gimme more!" however, as he tried to grab for the bottle, he almost fell off his chair, had it not been for the German woman with him.

"Mathias..." sighed the said German woman. "Honestly...you're a lot of trouble, you know that? Sometimes, I still wonder why I'm going out with you..."

"Am not, Louise!" pouted the Dane, his cheeks now flushed, and his eyes bloodshot. "Don't be a meanie! I'm just grieving! S'all!"

"Grieving?" Louise asked, arching a delicate eyebrow. However, she couldn't help but brim with pity for the Danish man; whenever he drank, he became more emotional - if fond memories or tragic experiences washed over him, this tall, towering, muscular Dane would get easily reduced to tears and sob like a child. She knew that she had to tread with _extreme caution _in this case, "Grieving, you say? Well..." she helped him up on the chair again. "What is it that you're grieving?"

The Dane blubbered, "I miss 'im! I miss him so much!" and with that, his baby blues were now tearful and shiny.

"Miss him?" echoed Louise as she came closer, now genuinely concerned for him. "Who do you miss?"

"_Norge_!" cried the Danish man over and over again. He sobbed as he placed his great hand on his agonized face, "I miss him so much! It was all my fault!"

"Mathias..." Louise said soothingly, she brushed away loose strands of blonde bangs from his right eye and shook her head, "Lukas disappearing was definitely _not _your fault. He went missing; _how_ could it be your fault?"

Mathias shook his head as he sniffed, the lump in his throat more distinguishable, "No, no, no, no, no! You weren't there! It was all my fault he's now gone!" he wept unceasingly. "I shouldn't 'ave let him jump! I should've held him! But, no...! _Norge!"  
_

And with that, the Dane suddenly took hold of his girlfriend and sobbed more of his sorrows aloud in her bosom. To say that the German woman was flustered was an understatement.

No, she was downright _mortified._

However, looking down at her Danish boyfriend who was crying his heart out, and obviously letting out a past regret, or guilty feelings that he felt he deserved, she simply let him do what he was doing, and began gently tenderly stroking his hair as she uttered soothing words in his ear to calm him down.

He only came here into the city to visit his mother since she became sick and his Vietnamese boss was a rather considerate man. But now, it looked like the Dane was too upset as he relieved old memories that didn't make much sense to the German woman as well.

_'Jump? I wonder what he means by that...'_

As she watched Mathias snooze on her, she was able to drag him to her apartment and pushed him onto one side of the bed while she herself made some herbal tea before washing up and joining him as well.

He could really use some warmth tonight. And honestly, so could she.

* * *

_And yes, here the chapter must draw to a close. So, it looks like Antonio and Quan are still trying to live together despite Antonio's little "handicap", and Quan's cousins don't seem to have any qualms against having a merman in the house so far. Will the couple be able to pull it through, though? Will they be able to overcome any potential obstacle? And if so, what obstacles will they face?_

_[Character/s Introduced]:  
Louise [Nyo!Germany]_

_Yes, I actually liked the idea of Nyo!Germany x Denmark - I ship it after DenBelg. XD_

_Well now, thoughts and opinions? Have a pleasant day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	11. Delving Into a Different World

_Hello there, HetaWriter/HetaReader here with another chapter. :)_

_A BIG thanks goes to **carlyleisback. cortes. 3 **for the fave; **StrawberryGlazed **for the follow AND the fave; and to **TearsMightDry**, **Madam Platypus **and **xXBlueSariaXx** for the reviews! :D_

**_TearsMightDry:_**_ Will she or won't she? Why don't we see? ;) please, don't cry if I do! D8_

**_Madam Platypus:_**_ Yeah, it made sense to use a wheelchair. XD I would like to imagine that Kasem (Thailand), Mei (Taiwan) and Yong Soo (South Korea) are the Asians who accept others more easily than others. =^^= well, for the GerDen, you'll have to thank xXBlueSariaXx for introducing me to the pair. :) ah, fair enough - a Little Mermaid medley then? :D_

**_xXBlueSariaXx:_**_ Well, considering how Quan's cousins don't seem to mind really, they should be fine; it's the obstacles _outside _that they have to watch out for. Unfortunately, for Mathias...:( thank you, though! :)_

_And we shall continue on our way._

* * *

Antonio was looking around in awe when Quan opened the door to his home and brought him inside.

The red-tailed merman was excited to come inside and see what it was like; human homes appeared far more differently to those that belonged to merpeople underwater. He was definitely not disappointed when he was gently wheeled inside.

There were all kinds of strange yet fascinating objects and sounds all around him. The smells were different, but naturally exotic and it uplifted him, making him relax and already feel at home.

He saw what appeared to be a large box with a dark shiny screen in one room with what appeared to be seats that were made of some strange looking substance – it looked scaly, but something about them told Antonio that they weren't made of scales. There were what appeared to be scrolls that hung down the walls and had odd, but beautifully drawn symbols on them. There was also a folded looking object with a wooden bottom that was also hung on one of the other walls with more pretty pictures on it.

Antonio could see that there was a room near the back of the house that had a white floor made of squares, but the walls appeared a warm peach. There was also something with a spout and a handle that made him wonder what it was.

"Quan, what's that?" the merman asked, pointing at the thing from where he was.

Quan peered at what his lover was pointing at, "That's a kettle."

"Kettle?"

The Vietnamese nodded, "Yeah, store water in it for heating. Let us come into the kitchen – that room with the kettle; it's where we eat."

Antonio nodded with a beam, "_Si_, I know what a kitchen is used for – we have some back home, but yours looks _far _more different to ours." When he was wheeled into the room, he looked around to see that it was smaller than the one in the palace, but it was cosy and emitted a homely feeling, making him feel safe and comfortable.

He could see that there was a table already prepared with a cloth, and there were plates and eating utensils out as well as glasses. A rich and delectable aroma had drifted around in the air and tickled Antonio's nose, causing him to drool slightly.

Quan was looking at him with an amused expression.

Antonio eventually caught himself, though, and, upon realizing that a _little _string of saliva was seeping out from his mouth, quickly wiped it away with his arm, his tanned cheeks flushed madly as he shook his head, "_Lo siento_! Sorry!"

The Vietnamese man simply gave a soft chuckle, "Don't worry; I tend to be like that, too, when it comes to Kasem's cooking. Yong Soo is _far _worse than you, as well."

Antonio's emerald orbs simply shone at his human in adoration as Quan's cousins entered the kitchen and took their spots at the table. Quan had wheeled Antonio in a position next to him; between himself and Mei. Mei sat at Antonio's left, while Quan took the merman's right. Yong Soo sat at Quan's other side; two seats remaining.

The red-tailed merman noticed this.

"Quan…" he gently pulled at the hem of his human's shirt and when the Vietnamese man nodded in his direction, full focus on him, the merman questioned. "Do you have another cousin?"

"Another…cousin?" Quan arched an eyebrow, perplexed at the question. "No. Not with me if that's what you mean."

Mei nodded, plastering a smile on her face to try and lighten the rather awkward atmosphere, "Yeah! Just me, Quan-kun, Kasem and _this _idiot…" she jerked her thumb at Yong Soo's direction.

The Korean boy wrinkled his nose, "I know what you are, Mei-Mei, but what am I?"

"A loser," Mei stuck her tongue out at him, giving a childish expression. Yong Soo returned it by sticking his own tongue out at her.

Antonio couldn't help but chuckle at the younger humans' conduct; it was quite cute. That little sound seemed to loosen the once awkward air that hung over everyone, though, and it seemed that after that, things were getting better from there.

"Why are you asking that question, Antonio?" inquired Quan, rather curious.

"Well, it's just that…" Antonio pointed at the chair. "There's a spare chair over there, and you only have three cousins."

"Oh…" Quan's face lit up in understanding as did Mei's and Yong Soo's. Mei then spoke up, "No, that chair belongs to Mathias."

"Mathias?" echoed Antonio.

"He works around our house," explained Quan. "The gardener and helper." He then made a gesture with his thumb, "He sleeps downstairs in the spare bedroom at the back."

"_Oh_…" the red-tailed merman nodded. "I see."

Dinner was a lovely ordeal that night; since Quan had showed Antonio eating utensils before, the merman was able to use them for the very first time, and Quan was pleased to see that his love was able to get the hang of eating pretty quickly. The Vietnamese man was very patient with him, too, and seemed eager in explaining and showing him how to eat. Antonio himself was eager to try human food since it looked and smelt _much _more differently to food underwater, and, needless to say, he _loved _it.

The tastes were so rich and full of flavour – spreading out across his tongue, dancing in brighter shades, and making him feel warm and tingly; completely satisfied inside. It lifted his very being, and the smile on his sunny face became even wider and happier if that was possible.

"Like it?" Quan asked, a small smile ghosting his features, promptly surprising Yong Soo and Kasem.

Mei simply gazed at the odd pair interestedly as Antonio nodded vigorously, "_Si_! It's _very _good! I like it! What is it?"

"_Tom kha kai_," responded Kasem, a pleased and satisfied smile spreading out on his gentle face. "Chicken galangal soup. You really mean that? You like it?"

"Of course," the red-tailed merman tilted his head, looking confused. "It's really nice; why? Did I…say something wrong?"

"No, no," Kasem shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. "It's just…the spices don't bother you?"

"Spices?" Antonio blinked as he ate more. "No…it tastes fine to me."

"I see," Kasem's light brown eyes were twinkling from behind his clear glasses. "I am _very _glad you enjoy it; not many people can handle the spices of my food that well."

"Quan told me you cook really well," Antonio added, still smiling brightly. "He's definitely right!"

"Quan…" the Thai man flushed slightly with pleasure. "How much have you told him about us, anyway?"

"Just the necessities…" the Vietnamese man responded with a slight smirk on his face.

Antonio also drank juice for the first, time, too. And when dessert came over, Quan discovered that his red-tailed lover was quite fond of sweets. It was an interesting discovery, but the Vietnamese man wasn't honestly that surprised – considering that Antonio was rather childish and naïve; him having a liking for sweets didn't sound so out of the ordinary.

As for Antonio, he _really _liked sweet things – the drink was golden in colour, and it tasted sweet, but at the same time, there was a strong pang to it; it reminded him of one of the fruits that Quan had showed him before on their first meeting.

The dessert being served, was, according to Kasem and Quan, called _tako_. Antonio breathed in the scent; taking in a lovely smell that melted pleasantly within his nostrils, making him feel pleasingly dazed. There was what appeared to be some white things that were set in cups of what appeared to be leaves, and there was also a creamy topping. The best part though was, that when Antonio ate it, he found that the texture was so smooth, that he didn't have to exercise his teeth much to chew it.

After dinner, Antonio could see that outside, the sky was darkening to a calm indigo as white diamonds embedded on its sheet. Since there was some time left over, the family had time to talk, and that was when the merman and his human decided to elaborate their story to the man's family so they could be more in depth with what was going on.

Mei, Yong Soo and Kasem allowed the pair to talk first before asking any questions so as the two lovers wouldn't get so bombarded first, and get what they wanted to say out of their system. However, needless to say, the three Asians were quite shocked to hear that there was _whole kingdom _of people like Antonio who lived and dwelled underwater.

Who would've thought?

"You must swear to never tell anyone about this," said Quan sternly, his once fond and love-filled expression then stretched down into a strict, stoic face. "Swear it to me."

"_Hyeong_," piped up Yong Soo. "This is big stuff you're trusting us with; do you _seriously _think we'll blow it off?"

The Vietnamese man narrowed his eyes, "I'm not saying that I don't trust you it's just that I _really _don't want you telling anyone; not even to Emil." Seeing the disappointed look on Mei's face, Quan sighed, "I know that that boy is your closest friend, but telling one person can quickly spread – think of it this way: you tell him, and he just tells one person, that one person will also just tell another, and it will eventually spread until the message falls onto the wrong ears."

"You have our word, Quan," Kasem nodded solemnly as he placed a hand over his heart and gave a small bow. "Yours and Antonio's secret are safe with us."

Antonio's eyes were shimmering gratefully as he exclaimed, "_Muchas gracias_! See?" he grinned at Quan. "I knew things would turn out okay!"

Quan simply sighed as he shook his head, "Well, now it's getting late; the sky's becoming darker than before. Time for sleep." Hearing Yong Soo and Mei groan in disappointment, the Vietnamese man said sternly, "You both have school tomorrow; I do _not _want to receive a complaint from any of your teachers about either of you sleeping in your class when you should be paying attention."

"Yes, _mom_," Yong Soo sighed as he went up the stairs. "Well…_anyeonghi jumuseyo_, _hyeong_. _Anyeonghi jumuseyo_, Antonio." Spotting the confused expression on his cousin's boyfriend's face, the Korean boy laughed, "Good night!"

"Oh!" Antonio's smile came back quickly on his face. "_Buenos noches_, Yong Soo!"

"Good night, Antonio," Mei waved as she flashed a beam and climbed up the stairs.

"_Buenos noches_, Mei!"

"Well, good night to the both of you," Kasem sighed. "It seems that Mathias hasn't returned yet; I wonder if he got caught up in traffic…"

Quan shrugged, "It's the city; I'd expect it to be just as busy at night. So, I'm assuming you're staying down here for a bit until he returns?"

The Thai man nodded, "Yes. I'll wash the dishes while I wait for him, too."

The Vietnamese man nodded; his cousin and the Dane always had a rather close bond between them both. So, he simply bid him good night (as well as Antonio), and wheeled the red-tailed merman to the stairs, but stopped and stared up at them.

'_Crap…'_

"Quan…?" Antonio was smiling nervously himself. "Well…how do we go up?"

The Vietnamese man had rubbed his chin, only pondering for a moment, when an idea just popped into his head. However, it caused a great scarlet hue to take siege on his cheekbones. However, looking down at Antonio, who was waiting for his response to a solution to this minor obstacle, Quan squashed down initial reluctance and reminded himself – there really was no shame in doing this right now; Antonio wouldn't mind, right?

"Quan…? W-whoa!" Antonio gave a sudden squeak of surprise when his human leaned down and, as tenderly as he could, placed his hands on him – one arm under his scarlet tail, and the other supporting his back as the Vietnamese man pulled him out of the wheelchair and closer to himself.

Quan was honestly surprised when he picked Antonio up with ease – he thought that the tail would weigh a great deal, but it turned out that that wasn't really the case. However, the merman _was _heavy to a degree – he weighed about the same weight as Yong Soo (the Vietnamese man would know, he and Kasem had their fair shares of carrying the Korean boy around due to sprained ankles). It just seemed…_odd _to Quan that Antonio didn't weigh as much as he appeared.

Not that he was calling him fat or anything of the sort; the merman was _far _from being fat…

Quan shook his head, feeling his face go on fire; he could practically hear his heart thumping away in a rapid pace against his ribcage. "Just…hold on…" he mumbled as he held Antonio close to him and began making his way up the stairs.

Antonio simply nodded and wrapped his arms around the Vietnamese man's neck, but was careful not to pull or squeeze him too much. During this time, the merman felt his heart flutter at the sudden close contact – what made him feel the more happier was that it was his human who initiated it.

Sure, Quan was only doing this as a way to get Antonio upstairs, but the merman couldn't help but feel that this was a nice, romantic moment to him.

And that was probably what led him to lay his head closer into his human's shoulder, and nestle against his figure.

Naturally, that prompted the Vietnamese man to flush even more.

Yong Soo had exited the bathroom when he caught sight of the couple making their way towards Quan's room; the Vietnamese man having the red-tailed merman in what appeared to be a bridal carry. The Korean boy's toothbrush was sticking out from his mouth as he stared at the rather bizarre sight before him.

However, upon letting that image settle within his being, Yong Soo scratched at his head, the face in his ahoge matching his pondering expression before he shrugged and walked towards his room, ignoring Mei's screaming at him for hogging the bathroom for too long.

'_Antonio may be fishy, but…'_ he smiled to himself. _'They _do _look pretty cute together.'_

* * *

"This is your room?" Antonio asked as he looked around.

Quan nodded as he gently placed the merman onto one side of his bed and seated himself on the other, "Yes…"

The red-tailed merman's emerald orbs were glowing in excitement as he looked around; it was actually a pretty large room – there were several shelves lining up next to the walls, and a desk nearby with more books on it as well as stacks of paper. A door leading to a room that was coloured beige and with what looked like a white bowl-like structure as well as a transparent glass box with no ceiling to it. There was a beautiful painting depicting a rather scary-looking creature, however it radiated a sort of majesty to its being, and there was what appeared to be a trident, however, unlike the one that King Romulus wielded, this one looked far simpler with a brown handle and much older. The bed that Antonio was on as well felt _really _nice – soft, but at the same time, there was a firmness that just felt right.

Looking at the side, Antonio also saw that there were also pictures that depicted Quan and his family. The merman remembered what they were called:

Photographs. Or photos for short.

They were intriguing little creations made from something that his human had called a camera – he showed him one before, and the merman was ecstatic and awed at seeing the natural scenery of the sea and the skies in the camera's little square at its back.

Those were used to treasure, Quan had told him; to keep memories alive so you wouldn't forget.

Looking at all of those photos, Antonio could see that his family were beaming widely - Yong Soo and Mei were doing various poses; Kasem was smiling, looking content; Quan himself however looked rather uncomfortable at the camera pointing at him, so as a result, his face was scrunched into several funny looking expressions.

He had a twisted smile in one, a horrified look in another, and he was hiding his face with his straw hat in another.

Quan saw what the merman was looking at and at once, he felt his face heat up in embarrassment again. "I'm…not so good with photos," the Vietnamese man said after clearing his throat and taking one of the framed photos from his beside table. "I'm not photogenic…"

"Oh, you told me what that word meant before," Antonio was snapping at his fingers with a little frown on his face as he tried to recall what that word meant. "Um…it means…oh, yes! It means that you look nice in photos!"

Quan nodded, "Basically. I'm not photogenic at all…"

Antonio shook his head, "What are you talking about? You look just fine to me!" he pointed at the picture, then at Quan's face, "You're very handsome."

The Vietnamese man wondered how he hadn't died from getting overheated yet – the temperature that his face was experiencing could have _no _way been normal. Quan shook his head though as he shrugged, "I won't be inclined to take that compliment…however, I still do not like getting my picture taken…"

Antonio pouted, "Really? I would like a picture with you one day…"

"A photo stores memories, yes," responded Quan. "But nothing can truly replace the memory itself that you hold in your heart

The merman gave a chuckle as he nodded, "_Si_, you are very right there, _mi amor_." And with that, he leaned closer to him, and lay his head on the human's shoulder again, "And I treasure all of my memories of you _very _much…"

Quan felt much better at hearing that; he felt something warm bloom from within his body as he gave a small chuckle, "Indeed…I hold the times we spent together close to myself as well." He then nodded and caressed at some loose strands of coffee-coloured locks that were getting in the way of Antonio's eye, "I'll have to go wash first, but don't worry – I'm just in there; that bathroom." He pointed at the beige room that Antonio was eying at before, "If something's wrong, just call me, okay?"

After Antonio gave the okay, the Vietnamese man slowly stood up from the bed, discarded his straw hat and placed it on the chair to the desk, and entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Antonio could hear some water running, and it made him wonder just what _was _his human doing inside?

He was very curious on that one.

It didn't take Quan that long to come out, though – only a several minutes. And the Vietnamese man came out wearing different clothes – much baggier and shorter-lengthened pants, and a simple shirt. He was also wiping at his face with what appeared to be a fluffy cloth.

He grabbed a clipboard from his desk, a pen, and came back to the bed where he placed the objects on the bedside table on his side, and looked down at Antonio. He made a gesture with his hand, "Move your tail up a bit…I need to get the blanket."

Antonio complied without hesitation, lifting his tail up so Quan could pull it carefully from underneath him.

The Vietnamese man then the same gesture, but in the opposite direction, the blanket was lifted high up in the air, "Just lie yourself down." Seeing the confused look etched onto the red-tailed merman's face, Quan gave an amused snort, his golden eyes gleaming, "You can put your tail down and lie your body flat with your head on that thing – it's called a pillow. It's okay – nothing's going to happen to you. Trust me." A small, yet gentle smile had formed from the thin line his lips used to make, which prompted Antonio to comply.

The merman gave a nod, "O-okay…" and he laid his whole figure down, his hands clasped to his front and his head lying on the fluffy thing that his human had pointed at, which, to his amazement, felt so soft and supported his head well. Thus with his body levelled, Quan was allowed to prudently place the blanket down over his figure.

"You know, you can take your hands out from underneath the blanket," Quan said, voice composed, but the slivers of amusement were unmistakeable.

"Oh…really?" Antonio's emerald orbs widened a bit when he brought his hands out from underneath the blanket. He stared at them, then at the blanket itself, touching it with his hands; it felt so soft and a lot like fur, but something about it made the merman think that it wasn't fur. "Oh…it's so soft!" he marvelled with a beam. "_Muy bueno_…"

Quan gave a small chuckle, "Blankets are meant to feel soft; no stress on your body." He then entered the bed himself, coming under the blanket, but sitting up with his back straightened as he took the clipboard and pen from his bedside table and began reading through the paper, "Hmm…"

"What are you looking at, _mi tesero_?" inquired Antonio in an inquisitive manner as he tried to gaze up.

"Just some business equations," replied Quan, sounding slightly exasperated. "Have to solve some debts and payments…"

"Oh," Antonio arched an eyebrow. "Sounds kind of boring if you ask me…"

"It somewhat is," answered back Quan. "But, it is necessary; I have to pay back my employees – they help me a lot, and I can't do things without them."

"That's very nice of you," beamed Antonio.

"It's just how the world works," said his human with a half-hearted shrug. "Now, get some sleep, Antonio."

The merman frowned a little, "What about you, Quan?"

The Vietnamese man waved a dismissive hand, "I'll sleep after I finish this, but you must be tired from all of the excitement today; just go to sleep, okay?" however, seeing that the merman wasn't closing his eyes after writing a few equations down, Quan sighed, "What? What is it?"

"I'm sleeping once you get to sleep," said Antonio, a stubborn little flame igniting in his grass green orbs.

Quan shook his head, "This can take me an hour to complete, Antonio. Please, just get some sleep."

"It's not fair that I get to sleep and you don't," said the merman.

The Vietnamese man sighed, "Work must be done; I have to maintain my business or else it will undergo problems like before. So, please, Antonio, just relax and get some sleep."

"Quan-"

"_Sleep_," the human said, his voice now stern, and his face stoic, serious and firm. "_Now_."

Antonio blinked and heaved a sigh himself, but not before he tugged on the hem of Quan's shirt again.

"What is it?" questioned the Vietnamese man, arching a pencil-thin eyebrow down at his lover. "What's wrong now?"

"Can you…lean down for a moment, please?" Antonio asked, a rather shy looking smile spread onto his face.

Surprised at seeing a smile like that, Quan complied, leaning down for a bit, when the merman suddenly came forward and planted a soft, sweet kiss to his cheek.

To say that the Vietnamese man was shocked was an understatement. No, he was _astonished_. His jaw had dropped a little bit open as he stared wordlessly at the red-tailed merman with widened honey-gold orbs.

However, Antonio kept true to Quan's words and laid himself back down on the bed and shifted a little, snuggling into the bed as he felt more comfortable. "_Buenos noches_, _mi amor_," he whispered, voice with a line of a purr in it.

Quan felt his face explode into a blush again, but he cleared his throat and nodded, "G-good night, Antonio…" it took a great amount of control and strength to prevent his voice from quivering like a leaf. The Vietnamese man saw the merman close his eyes, his chest heaving up and down; filled with strength and life.

And so, he worked as quickly as he could while at the same time, keep it accurate.

Just so he could get some sleep himself.

Especially with such a warm and beautiful companion by his side.

* * *

"_**No! What the hell do you think you're doing?! Don't!"**_

He was shivering terribly; like a leaf in the middle of a gale-ridden storm. The muscular chest was heaving up and down as haggard gasps for breath were ripping apart at his throat, shaking his very being.

"_**Don't! Don't do it!"**_

Sweat was riding down from the sides of his head as he thrashed around horribly, punching and making harsh gestures in the tense, heavy air.

"_**What're you doing?! Get away from there!"**_

He was screaming in a great panic – his voice raised higher in pitch due to the intense alarm that his body was partaking.

He could see it all right now again.

That slightly lithe and slightly smaller frame, the short, light blonde hair…

Leaning down and looking over the edge.

Slowly, the figure turned his head around, revealing dull, blue eyes that were glazed, seemingly in a sort of trance.

He knew that he was screaming by now – screaming desperately for that figure not to do what he knew he was going to do. Pleading and shouting at the top of his lungs.

However, he turned his head back around and stood up straight again, eyes never leaving the edge.

"_**No! Don't!"**_

The figure then bent his knees down as he went into a stance, ready to jump and dive down, not even looking back one last time at the one who called.

He tried to run to the figure, prevent him from doing what he was going to do.

However, the next thing he knew, great gusts of heavy northern winds and strong, fierce gales were forcefully knocking him back; _away _from the figure.

His screaming grew even more desperate when the figure finally sprung off from the balls of his feet; seemingly playing in slow motion.

The figure jumped over the edge.

"**Norge**_**!"**_

Mathias shot up, his baby blues were filled with panic and appeared to be teary as he glanced around frantically. Upon realizing where he was and what was happening, the Dane licked his lips and recalled what happened.

'_Lort…' _he thought to himself. _'Just a screwed up dream…Louise helped me to a cab…and I ended up home…Kasem got me inside, I ate some of his awesome stuff. Quan apparently has a boyfriend now…and I'm just tired…'_

Looking down at his now trembling hands, the Dane heaved a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his spiky tresses of light blonde hair as he shook his head and lay back down.

'Way _too tired…'_

He shut his eyes after a blink or two; hoping that he wasn't going to be plagued by anymore of that damn ordeal that night.

* * *

_And thus ends Chapter 11._

_Well, the next one will come up sometime - maybe Sunday or something like that. But, anyway, yes, it looks like things are running more smoothly between Quan, Antonio and Quan's family as the merman settles in the Vietnamese man's home. However, that saying so, we also now enter a little arc that _will _involve__ Mathias - I'm actually interested to hear/see what you guys think is going on with him. ;) you'll all probably find out what happens in either the next chapter or chapter 13. :)_

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day, guys. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	12. Warm Touch, Cold Breath

_Greetings, HetaWriter/HetaReader with another chapter brought to you. :)_

_A BIG thanks goes to **Chris Shelton **for the follow AND the fave. Also, BIG thanks goes to **xXBlueSariaXx **for the review! :D_

**_xXBlueSariaXx: _**_Yes, I added in some more romantic moments for Quan and Antonio - they could use some, in my opinion. XD ahh, as for Mathias, it's still left open - the next chapter, it'll be fully found out. ;) but now, I feel bad for making Mathias go through that sort of emotional trauma. :(_

_Well, very short note aside, let's move on._

* * *

Antonio gave a little moan as he sluggishly turned around in the bed, the warmth of the blanket engulfing him as his scarlet, gold-finned tail curled inwardly a bit.

However, feeling next to him, he found that there was just cold, empty space.

The merman softly swatted his hand around, scowling slightly with his eyes still shut, feeling that something was amiss.

"…"

His emerald eyes then creased open, blinking at the empty space next to him. The red-tailed merman frowned slightly, sleep still seizing his mind. However, upon gazing at the space next to him, and looking around in his surroundings, his eyes then shot open, widening upon realizing just _what_ was missing.

And it caused him to sit up in the bed as he looked around, his green eyes stretched slightly in confusion and worry.

"Quan…?" he gazed around. "Quan? Where are you…?"

"Ah, it's good to see you're awake now."

Turning his head around, Antonio's confused and anxious expression immediately lit up like the sun rising when he caught sight of his human.

Quan had entered their room with a rather serene expression on his face, a small smile etched onto his usually serious face. He was also carrying and balancing a tray that consisted of a plate with toast that had melted butter on it, some scrambled eggs on the side, and a glass filled with orange juice. He carefully came over and settled the tray onto the bed, the contents of the juice in the glass sloshed slightly inside, but still remained within. "Good morning," the Vietnamese man greeted pleasantly.

"Good morning, _mi amor_~" beamed Antonio as he snuggled close to him, leaning his head on his shoulder. "You get up quite early, actually."

"I have to," responded Quan evenly. "I have to get to work pretty soon."

Antonio's happy expression fell a bit at that, "Oh, yeah…I remember you have quite a lot of work to do…"

Seeing his lover with such a saddened expression, Quan placed a hand on the merman's soft locks, and ran his fingers through the mocha-coloured strands of hair. Though his face reddened slightly at how bold he was acting right now, the Vietnamese man just couldn't help himself; not with the merman looking like that. "Don't worry," he assured him gently. "I won't be gone for long; I'll be back in the afternoon."

Antonio nodded, flashing him a smile so as not to concern him, "Okay. I'll wait for you, then, _mi tesero_!"

"You must be hungry, first," Quan said as he motioned to the breakfast tray.

Antonio inhaled the lovely aroma, giving a content exhale as he felt a rumble emit from within his stomach. He blushed a little, giving a sheepish smile as he nodded, "_Si_. I _am _pretty hungry." He took the fork in one hand and poked at the toast curiously with it; doing the same thing with the melted butter on it.

Quan watched with a soft, smiling spark in his honey-gold hues as he then took the piece of toast and ripped a piece off of it. He then offered the piece to Antonio, "You can just eat that with your hands."

"Oh, okay…" Antonio took the piece of toast that Quan had ripped off, and ate it, enjoying the texture of the butter on his tongue. A smile spread out onto the merman's face as he nodded, "It's quite nice!"

Quan gave a shrug, "It's just a typical breakfast." He then offered the rest of the toast to his companion, "Here, you should finish the rest of your toast."

Antonio then blinked and stared at the remainder of the buttered toast for a moment, face suddenly rather passive, which made the Vietnamese man a little uneasy – was there something wrong.

Then next, much to the shock of the Vietnamese man, Antonio leaned forward, gripped his human's wrist, and took the toast with his mouth, eating it right out of Quan's hand.

"What the-?!" Quan could only stare wordlessly at him; staring at the merman in astonishment as he was eating the toast, holding onto it, now looking delightfully content.

"Now it tastes nicer~" Antonio said; a playful and mischievous little glimmer sparkled in his eyes.

Quan's face instantly took heat as he rubbed at the back of his head, "Erhem…well. You should try the eggs, too…"

"Eggs?" Antonio tilted his head. "You actually eat those?"

"We tend to," responded Quan. "Why?"

The merman then scowled lightly more out of pondering rather than annoyance as he stared at the yellow and white fluffy looking pieces of food on his plate, "That really doesn't look like the eggs that the fish lay…"

Quan's chuckle rumbled from within his throat, "No, no…we don't eat fish eggs – at least, my family doesn't. These eggs are taken from chickens."

"Oh," Antonio nodded in understanding. "I see…but I have a question; wouldn't the chickens get upset with you for taking their eggs?"

Quan rubbed his chin as he arched a pencil-thin eyebrow, "Well, these species of bird are actually bred in order to provide us with their eggs. Eating eggs is actually good for a human body."

"Really?"

"The protein and fat in eggs help sustain energy levels," explained Quan. "It also contains antioxidants and nutrients within them that helps with brain development, memory and even eyesight. Plus, eating an egg rather than something like…say for example: fruity cereal or a bagel, can even help one lose weight."

"You're really smart, Quan," marvelled Antonio, eyes shining in admiration. "I wonder how you know about so much…"

Quan gave a sheepish chortle, "Honestly…I'm not _that _smart…"

"Oh, but you are!" smiled Antonio as he leaned close to him again. "It's one of the things I like about you, really."

The Vietnamese man's flush deepened, however he cleared his throat upon hearing the last part, "_'One of the things'_?" he asked. "What else is there to like about me?"

Antonio stared at him in shock, "_Qué_? What do you even mean by that? Don't you know how lovable you are? There are _a lot _of things to love and admire about you! First off, you're very nice and kind – you're really gentle and understanding, and also so patient even when I say stupid stuff at times! And like I said before, you're really, _really _smart – after all; you were able to find a way for us to finally live and be together. And there was last night, too! You were calculating and doing really hard-looking problems, and it was for people, too! It goes back to you being really nice and kind - you care about others before yourself-"

Quan was rather dazed at how rapidly the merman was talking, but he was able to listen carefully and understand as to what he was saying. So, the Vietnamese man shook his head with his cheeks dusted crimson as he raised his hand to stop the merman, "Okay, okay, I understand, Antonio." Looking at the clock that was ticking away in his room, he heaved a sigh, "I better leave now; my employees will be expecting me at the docks…"

"_Si_," the red-tailed merman nodded; he remembered that on one of their previous meetings on the beach, Quan had told him that the _'boat ledge' _that Antonio had used to call before, were actually called _'docks'_.

Actually, he was learning quite a lot upon staying with Quan, and really, Antonio was excited in absorbing these facts about this new environment he was in.

"Again, there is no need to look so sad," the Vietnamese man spoke up. "I'll be back quite soon. Just eat your breakfast and don't be afraid to ask Kasem for anything, okay?" he then ran a hand through his hair, "Forgot to tell Mathias about you, and he's gone back to the city with his mother in hospital…"

"Really? His mama's sick?" Antonio's face was etched with worry. "That sounds awful…I hope she gets better soon."

"I'm sure she will be," said Quan. "She's a pretty tough old for a woman her age. Don't worry, though – I'm sure that when Mathias finally comes around, we'll be able to tell him about you."

"Ah yes, you are going to tell him, _si_?" Antonio asked as he sipped his juice, content with the tangy yet sweet taste that spread out over his tongue.

Quan nodded, "I'll tell him when I see him, so we can all finally gather with him around, but I suppose it is hard to catch him nowadays with his mother being sick. Don't worry, though - Mathias may be thick-headed and rather…_excessive _at times, however he is very loyal and can definitely keep a secret. He has worked at my house for four years already."

"Speaking of years," Antonio tilted his head. "How old _are _you, _mi corazón_? We never spoke about age when we used to meet up at the beach."

At the question, the Vietnamese man opened his mouth to respond, when a thought occurred to him. Naturally, prompting him to inquire in response, "Actually…I wonder about that, too – for you, I mean. Do you also measure age with years?"

Antonio nodded with that same sunny smile, "_Si_, we do! I turned twenty-three last second month!"

Quan arched both his eyebrows, "Last second month…" he rubbed his chin, _'He means February, I think…' _he then continued, in silent surprise, "Wow…you're actually still quite young..."

"Really?" Antonio asked. "How old are you? I'm sure you can't be _that _old." His human cleared his throat as he grumbled a little, seemingly embarrassed with the subject, causing Antonio to scrunch his face up in a perplexed manner and cup his hands around his ear, "_Qué_? What? I can't hear you, _mi amor_. There's no reason to feel shy about your age! I really don't care how old you are. Now, what did you say?"

The Vietnamese man exhaled as he shook his head, "I am twenty-four…going on twenty-five this year…"

"Really?" Antonio's eyes widened slightly; obviously showing a fair amount of surprise. However, the more he thought about it, the more it made _plenty _of sense.

For one thing, Quan stood more defined and proud – he appeared rather tall to Antonio, despite his human insisting that he actually wasn't at all that high in height. Another marker that pointed that out was how mature and serious the Vietnamese man was – really to find a young one or teenager with a composed and developed mentality like Quan's was rare, so it should've been obvious that his human was an adult. And the same thing with work – Yong Soo and Mei were in their teens, according to Antonio's human; Quan himself meanwhile kept saying that he would go to _work_, so obviously, that would mean he was no longer a teenager.

Sometimes Antonio felt that he was too stupid to be blessed with a clever lover like Quan.

"Yes," responded Quan with an exasperated sigh. "I'm kind of old…"

Antonio shook his head as he chirped, "No, you're not old at all!" he then rubbed the back of his neck, "Honestly…I feel kind of dumb for not realizing sooner that you may be older than me…"

The Vietnamese man frowned, "Do not call yourself dumb just because of that; it's an honest mistake. Well…I have to go now. Just don't worry about it – I still love you no matter what you are, and how old you are." With that, the Vietnamese man summoned the courage from within him and leaned down, planting his lips against the merman's temple.

Antonio's heart skipped a beat as he wrapped his arms around his human's neck, embracing him closely before returning the peck with one of his own; only it was applied to Quan's cheek.

His heart was rapidly beating, but Quan simply licked his lips and nodded as he gave a wave to his lover and left but not before he swept his straw hat onto his head, gleaming a small smile just for the merman.

Antonio smiled and waved back as he watched his human leave.

* * *

With the week that had already passed by, Yong Soo, Mei and Kasem had noticed that the more Antonio and Quan spent time together, the happier their older cousin was. It seemed that he was no longer depressed and angry over that one time before, but rather treated it with indifference and a half-hearted shrug of the shoulder.

"How do you think Antonio's holding up with living with us so far?" Yong Soo questioned his cousin as he and Mei were walking back home. Emil was sick that day, so it was just the pair of them taking the normal path. "He seems pretty at home already."

"It's been a week already," responded Mei. "And from how he is right now, I think he'll be just fine with living with us. Remember; he and Quan-kun have met each other a number of times already, so he probably showed him stuff from our world. Plus, Quan-kun seems to care about him a whole lot, too."

"That's another thing I've noticed," piped up Yong Soo. "I honestly didn't expect _hyeong _to fall in love again."

"Yeah," nodded Mei, her face saddened; even her ahoge was drooping. "Poor Quan-kun was just…_crushed _when Allie broke his heart-"

"More like _mercilessly _destroyed it," seethed Yong Soo, his usually bright and light-hearted brown eyes blazing hateful flames. He punched a hard fist into one of his open palms, "Don't forget what she did to him; if I ever see her again, I'm gonna kick her butt _hard_, da ze!"

Mei cracked her own knuckles, "Oooh! I know! She better not appear again! I'm _so _going to give her a _piece _of my mind if I ever see her horribly done make-up face again! She'll pay for breaking Quan-kun's heart! She will _pay_!" she then noticed how everyone was staring at her with odd expressions, and it caused her to blush and hide her face from behind the sleeves of her pink _qipao_.

Yong Soo then rubbed his chin, "But…in a way, I'm glad she broke up with _hyeong_."

"Wait…so you're telling me that you're _glad_ she _broke his heart_?" Mei stared at him incredulously. "How can you even _say _that, Yong Soo?!"

"No! That's not what I meant, da ze!" Yong Soo was flapping his arms about. "No! What I meant was, I'm glad that they're not together – because now _hyeong _is better with his business, and also, I think he and Antonio are seriously meant for each other. I know that Antonio's like…half fish, however you can clearly see that they love each other really, _really _much."

Mei calmed down, "You're right on that one, actually – and I don't think Antonio has the heart to be mean or nasty like her."

They both also noticed that Antonio was a rather sweet person – sure he was rather clueless and air-headed at times (Yong Soo was able to run circles around him a few times), but he meant well, and he was very warm and welcoming. Whenever they came home, Antonio would greet them with a lovely smile and ask them how they were as well as how their day was – eager to hear about what was going on.

And honestly, it felt really nice.

"I hope he stays with us for a really long time," said Mei hopefully.

"I do, too, da ze," agreed Yong Soo. "He's like…the sun to _hyeong's _moon; you can tell – he _completes _him."

"There _is _one thing that worries me, though," hear, Yong Soo arched an elegant eyebrow at his younger cousin's now nervous expression. "It's about Mathias…"

"Oh…" Yong Soo stopped walking for a moment. "He doesn't know about Antonio being a merman yet, does he?"

Mei shook her head, "No, he doesn't; he's seen Antonio, but he probably just thinks that he's crippled or handicapped or something like that. We should tell him, and I think _soon _would be good."

"That's the problem, though," said Yong Soo with a slight frown. "His mom's been all sickly in a weird way – she goes in and out of being ill, so Mathias ends up going to and from the city a _lot_. He's not in the city today, though, as far as I'm concerned."

"Oh?" Mei's brown eyes widened like a deer in headlights. "He's at home right now?"

"From what I'm aware of."

"Then we can just tell him now!"

"You sure you wanna do that, Mei-Mei?"

Mei glowered as she put her hands on her hips, "Of course I want to tell Mathias! We shouldn't just keep him out of the loop – he's part of the family and lives with us, too! And also, he's actually _really _good with secrets – he hasn't spilled to anyone about what that…nasty cow had done to Quan-kun! I'm sure he'll be just fine with it!"

"Actually," Yong Soo spoke up. "I don't think we should be telling him yet."

"Why not?!"

Yong Soo's face then became uncharacteristically serious, which _really _put off Mei, making her feel scared and concerned – her Korean cousin never acted like that unless the matter was _very _grim. And just from the expression right now, this was one of grave importance.

With that, they continued onto their way home.

* * *

"_**No…"**_

"_**It's your fault…"**_

Choking; he was choking as he desperately thrashed around – his fist was beating around, punching and slamming at thin air and the mattress, causing the bed to squeak and groan in pain. Mouth was hanging open as he inhaled deeply, breathing haggardly as his heart thumped faster and faster – beating so hard in his chest, that one would be afraid that it might break out of his chest at any minute.

The sweat poured down the sides of his head, sliding in thick droplets.

Akin to those that appeared at the corners of his squeezed shut eyes.

"_**You should've done something…and now he's gone…"**_

"_**I tried…I tried!"**_

The voices were garbled and fuzzy as that same scene played over and over again in his disturbed mind.

Progressively, it started gaining colour, however it was still faded out – more of a monochromatic sepia tone that was used in old-fashioned films.

However, those dull and blank, sapphire blue eyes were unmistakeable.

"_**It's not my fault! It's not! Not fully at least!"**_

"_**Then whose fault was it?"**_

That was when he saw it.

A tanned face…darkened with a sinister undertone…

There was a bright smile…twisted into one that was manically gleeful…

Dark hair…consisting of short spikes…

And that was where those sapphire blue eyes were fixated upon; causing them to suddenly get into a rather hazy trance.

And soon, he could hear his own voice screaming and shouting in desperation for him not to jump.

"_**Whose fault…"**_

He tried hard to recall that face properly – it was still fuzzy and a little distorted due to trying to suppress away that horrid memory where he lost him. The pain of losing him before caused a great crack to form in his heart and split it clean when he was no longer findable.

Honestly, he didn't want to feel that same hurt reign down and seize hold of him again.

Not again.

"_**Yes…who is to blame for all of this mess? To leave behind a grieving mother, a sorrowful little brother, and a now traumatized shell of a man who was his best friend?"**_

"_**It's…"**_

The more he tried to remember, the more the face had melted away; taking part with the great expanse.

However, he could hear something very vividly…

An enchanting voice in an alto key…it was singing in a lilting melody that haunted the very cores of his whole being - shaking his mind, causing everything to go numb.

"_**It was…!"**_

Mathias shot up from his bed again, gasping for breath; sucking in air as more sweat dripped down from the sides of his head. The Dane leaned forward as he placed his head in both of his hands. "Why…" he snarled. "Why can't I remember?! If I can't remember, then why am I still being freaking plagued by these damn nightmares?!"

He was shouting to nobody in particular.

"_Lort_…" he groaned as his figure sadly slumped down. His baby blues appeared defeated and forlorn with past grief, "I'm going nuts…"

He laid back down on his bed, rolling to his side as he curled up inwardly – his knees coming up and closer to his torso. Again, he shut his eyes again as he attempted to reclaim some peaceful sleep and hopefully gain some rest for once.

What he was unaware of was the two pairs of brown eyes that were watching him from behind a wall.

"I can't believe this…" Mei breathed, immensely saddened at the sight that played before her. "What's wrong with Mathias…?"

"Honestly, I don't know," admitted Yong Soo. "I wish I knew; so we could help…but even _hyeong _Kasem said he doesn't know, and he already woke him up a few times before."

"A few times before?" echoed Mei, her eyes almost popping out from their sockets. "How many times has Mathias had these nightmares already?"

"I'm not sure, either," responded Yong Soo as he scratched his head, careful to miss his expressive ahoge. "I think it started after that one time at Rosaliese's boat party – you know, the day that _hyeong _Quan almost drowned, but got saved by Antonio…"

"I wish we knew what he was talking about," sighed Mei, her gaze fixated on the troubled Danish man. "It just looks like he's regretting over something awful…do you think he'll tell us if we ask him?"

"No way, da ze!" her Korean cousin shook his head with a snort. "You know Mathias – he's _really_ stubborn, da ze! He'll just smile and say there's nothing wrong with him and that we're worrying about him too much."

"But it's just so obvious to see that there _is _something wrong with him," cried Mei, though she kept her voice quiet so as not to rouse him from his slumber. "Can we really do nothing about this?"

"Well…" Yong Soo rubbed his chin in deep thought. "I don't know…maybe _hyeong _Kasem has more information or seen or observed something that I haven't heard or seen yet when it comes to Mathias. We should just go and talk to him, first about it."

As they quietly left the disturbed Dane, Mei tapped on Yong Soo's shoulder, "Does Quan-kun know about this?"

Yong Soo shook his head, "No; Kasem says that it's probably best not to worry him about it – he has Antonio to focus on and take care of, and though _hyeong _Quan's happy with Antonio around, it's kinda obvious to see that he's worried that something _might _happen to him some day."

"I certainly hope not," said Mei as she nodded. "But fair enough; I don't want to worry Quan-kun, either – he deserves this shot of happiness, and as stated before; Antonio _is _that shot for him."

"We better go and talk to _hyeong _Kasem when we get the chance – namely when _hyeong _Quan and Antonio aren't around, either," said Yong Soo firmly, a spark in his brown eyes. "I think now might be the best time – _hyeong _Quan took Antonio out this evening to the beach on his wheelchair, and I think they're both taking his boat as well so they can spend time on the sea, apparently. Let's go, Mei-Mei, da ze!"

The Taiwanese girl nodded, but before they left the once warm and cosy little hut where their dear friend lived, it was now filled with a much colder and more sinister draft as the Dane gasped for more breath, beginning to shiver in his sleep.

Though from grief, the metaphorical cold or fear, Mei knew not.

* * *

_The chapter now draws to a close. Okay, now I feel a bit worse for making Mathias go through that, however! The reason as to _why _he's like that, and what happened with him is going to be revealed in the next two chapters, so stay tuned. ;D_

_You're free to take a guess, though. X3_

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? They certainly do help me in my writing. But, either way - I hope you have a nice and pleasant day, dear readers. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	13. Memory's Breaking Point

_Hey there, guys, HetaWriter/HetaReader with another chapter. :)_

_Well, a BIG thanks goes to **Juju19972 **for the follow AND the fave, as well as **Szyael **for the fave. :) BIG thanks also goes to **Madam Platypus **and **xXBlueSariaXx **for the reviews. :D_

**_Madam Platypus:_**_ There'll be quite a number of fluffy moments in this piece, me thinks. XD well, Mathias' story is seen through glimpses here, but it's explained in much better detail next chapter. ;) thank you very much! :D_

**_xXBlueSariaXx:_**_ As mentioned before, there will be quite a lot of fluffy moments between Quan and Antonio. XD yeah, I couldn't help that bit with the toast - it's definitely something I can imagine Antonio doing. :) yes - eggs are quite remarkable in their own way: I actually haven't had some in a while, unfortunately. ^^' actually Antonio is twenty-three while Quan is going to turn twenty-five in the same year, so technically, there's a two-year difference between them. Well, Mathias' story is going to be placed in glimpses here, but it's going to be properly explained in the next chapter. ;D thank you again, as always. :D_

_Wake up and immerse back into reality..._

* * *

"_Hyeong_ Kasem; we got something to ask you, da ze!"

Kasem blinked; his warm light brown eyes curiously glinting from behind his clear glasses as he was preparing dinner for that night. The Thai man tilted his head slightly before giving a nod, "Well, really? What is it, ana~?"

Here, Mei chose to respond, "Well…it's about Mathias."

"Mathias?" echoed Kasem as he arched an elegant eyebrow. "And…what about Mathias?"

"It's just…" Mei bit her bottom lip, but shook her head and continued. "Well, we haven't told him about Antonio being a merman yet, but anyway, that's not the problem – Yong Soo and I were supposed to try and tell him when we got home, but then Yong Soo showed me that Mathias was having nightmares, and apparently; you woke him up a few times before."

Upon hearing that, Kasem's perplexed expression slowly morphed into a more serious tone, also creeping Mei out; her older Thai cousin was known for being quite gentle and carefree, albeit he tended to get very absent-minded at times. So, seeing him with such a concerned and solemn one, it really said a lot: much like how Yong Soo was as well before they saw Mathias in another nightmare.

Yong Soo then questioned, "_Hyeong_ Kasem, do you have any idea on what's up with Mathias? What he's dreaming about, maybe?"

Kasem heaved a sigh as he carefully added a few more spices into the pot. He waved his hand over the steam, beckoning it over to himself as he stared down into the contents; his brown eyes slightly glazed, unseeing as the steam fogged up the thick lenses of his glasses. He responded, "Honestly…I am not so sure myself."

Unsurprisingly, his younger Asian cousins sagged in disappointment with his answer. Seeing them look so forlorn and filled with so much concern for the Dane, and also because Kasem himself felt worried for him, the Thai man then added, "But, I _will _say what I have heard, ana."

Yong Soo and Mei planted themselves at the dining table as the rich aroma from Kasem's cooking wafted and wavered around softly in the air. The smell caused a great sense of calm to wash over everyone, but still, the nervous twists in their very beings couldn't be so easily settled from the scent. Kasem let the broth bubble a bit more before he took a seat close to them himself, discarding his glasses and cleaning them with the hem of his white jacket.

"So…what _do _you know about Mathias' nightmares?" inquired Mei in a quiet voice.

Kasem placed his glasses back on their perch as he replied, "Well…I can't be too sure on just _what _he is dreaming about _exactly_…however, what I _can _determine is that it's a past regret, ana."

"Past regret?" echoed Yong Soo, arching an elegant eyebrow. "Define _'past regret'_ – like, did he have a heartbreak, did a family member die, did he kill someone-"

"Yong Soo!" Mei snapped sharply. "Don't say that!"

The Korean boy frowned, "Why not? It's possible, da ze!"

"No way is Mathias capable of killing someone!" hissed the Taiwanese girl. "Sure he's really tall and seems kinda scary at first glance, but he's really, _really_ nice!"

"I know he's very nice," said Kasem in an even tone, nodding his head. "However, that doesn't mean that he's not without any secrets himself, ana. He simply doesn't like telling others about it – he'd rather not delve into them again, it seems…"

Yong Soo and Mei then blinked and exchanged a glance; come to think of it – they really didn't know Mathias that well.

Sure, he worked and lived at their house for four years, however with the whole time he stayed there and he knew so much about their lives and routines, the two younger Asians were startled with the fact that they actually _didn't _know Mathias as well as they thought.

What they did know?

He was twenty-four, came from Denmark, had no siblings, has a sickly mother in the city and cannot seem to hold his liquor well at all.

…

That was about it.

They had no idea what he was like when he was younger – not much was really known about his schooling (besides the fact that he used to play soccer since he enjoyed having little games with Yong Soo in regards to the sport), and whenever he was asked about old friends, he would remain silent and somehow change the topic. Another thing was _how _he even came to their house in the first place – apparently, according to Quan, Mathias was in desperate need of work, and because the Vietnamese man was rising financially with his business, and needed maintenance of his house, hired the Dane and allowed him to stay as long as he watched the house, tended to the garden, and maintained any of the appliances.

Mathias did his job quite well, so it seemed that there really was no need to question him about anything.

"You actually have a good point, Kasem," said Yong Soo as he scratched his head; avoiding his expressive curl. "We really _don't _know much about, Mathias, da ze."

Mei nodded in agreement, though her lips were tightly pursed, "But, still! He's stayed with us for years! He's practically part of the family now! Right?"

"You're definitely right there, Mei-Mei," said Kasem with a rather saddened smile. "Mathias _is _part of the family. However, I don't know if he'll be willing to come out and tell us what his problem is; you and I know how he is whenever he's undergoing a problem."

"Yeah," Yong Soo spoke up. "That guy…he never wants us worrying about him…it's kinda sad, da ze."

"Maybe the thing he's dreaming about is causing him to be so secretive about himself," suggested Mei. "If we find out about _that _little piece of information, then we could help him cope and get over it! Then he'll have no more nightmares, and he can sleep."

"Indeed," said Kasem. "But, it's not as easy as you'd think, Mei-Mei; you would know that by now, ana."

"But you've woken him up several times before," urged Mei. "What do you think he's dreaming about? What have you seen or heard while he was experiencing those nightmares? Has he told you anything?"

Kasem rubbed his chin as he re-enacted the times during these past months where Mathias was getting plagued by nightmares – they started when Quan had almost drowned, however even so, the nightmares weren't this severe; they started out rather mild where the Dane would jolt in his sleep, but after a little moment later, he would immediately fall back asleep and snore the night away.

However, the more time that passed, the more severe Mathias' nightmares became until the Danish man was reduced to a quivering, gasping and suffering heap of flesh in his bed – making wild, flailing gestures as his voice became louder and louder; practically screaming in desperation for someone to stop doing something.

'_I wonder who that someone is?'_ wondered Kasem as he tapped his chin. He then said to his younger cousins, "Well, the times that I've come downstairs for a midnight snack, I would hear him talk in his sleep."

"Talk in his sleep?" Mei tilted her head. "What was he talking about?"

"Well," Kasem licked his lips. "Various phrases, but they're all variants of the same few sentences: _'No, don't do it!'_, _'Get away from there!'_, _'What are you doing?!' _– all of those. He's also starting to say stuff like: _'It's not my fault!'_, _'I tried!'_ – that, too." Seeing their startled and frightened young faces, the Thai man sighed, "It soon became shouting, and really…I was rather terrified myself…"

"Any name?" asked Yong Soo. "Did he say anyone's name?"

"Well…" Kasem rubbed his chin again as he contemplated deeply. "Well…there _was one thing_ I kept on hearing him say over and over again."

"And what is that one thing?" both Mei and Yong Soo leaned even closer in anticipation when _just_ as Kasem opened his mouth to respond, the front door was swung open and Quan entered with Antonio who was situated on the wheelchair.

The red-tailed merman was giggling and chuckling happily, and even his human looked quite content and pleased with the night.

"_Hola_, guys!" Antonio waved merrily at Quan's cousins. "How are you guys tonight? Something smells yummy, Kasem!"

Kasem quickly gave a chuckle as he nodded, "Yes, I've prepared us dinner, ana~ it's nice to see that you're both in good spirits, too. How was your little date together on the beach for tonight?"

Here, Quan's face instantly broke out into a deep, unhealthy shade of crimson while Antonio, though he had scarlet dusting his own tanned cheekbones, gave another cheery little chortle as he leaned back and looked up at his human, smiling endearingly up at him, as he reached a hand up to stroke the Vietnamese man's cheek. "Nothing much, really," Quan said in response in a rather casual manner as he wheeled Antonio towards the stairs. "We'll come down shortly…"

Antonio lifted his arms and wrapped them around Quan's neck as the Vietnamese man placed his hands in the positions of a bridal carry – gently carrying the merman upstairs.

They looked so happy together, that it lightened the once tense, serious and solemn atmosphere before, making the three Asians relax.

"Hey, guys! Good evening?"

Scratch that.

Mathias came inside, beaming widely – his pearly whites glinting. However, it was evident from the bags that gathered under his usually sparkling but now exhausted baby blues, and how droopy his short, wild blond hair was, along with his slightly slouching figure and somewhat bowed head; he was obviously suffering from bouts of insomnia.

Yet here he was, trying to muster a smile for them all.

"Good evening, Mathias," Kasem responded, plastering a smile on his own face. "How was your sleep last night?"

Mathias stretched his muscled arms a bit behind his head as he yawned and arched his back. He shook his head as if to try and shake the temptation to sleep away, and grinned even wider, "Yeah! _Way _better!"

It was also quite obvious that he was lying through his teeth.

"Where are Quan and his little Latin lover, anyway?" inquired Mathias as he placed himself on Yong Soo's other side. "I saw them enter – they certainly make a nice couple, don't you think?"

Ever since Mathias had first met Antonio, the Dane had already assumed a lot of things about the merman – that he was a Latino for one thing because of his accent and the various words and sentences he would speak in (_"Hola! Me llamo _Antonio_!"_), and there was also because of apparently how he looked like.

Sun-kissed skin, chocolate-coloured locks that cascaded and framed slightly around his face, providing a beautiful contrast, a gorgeous, and sincere smile that reached the cores of his warm, emerald green hues.

Mathias laughed, "Quan certainly knows how to pick 'em, right? Am I right, or am I right?"

Mei gave a nervous guffaw in response, "You bet! Quan-kun does, doesn't he?"

"Gotta admit," the Dane nodded. "Quite a good-looking one; however, I ain't really that surprised…" he found a carton of chocolate milk in the fridge, poured himself a glass, and took a swig of it, giving a content exhale of breath, "Boss himself's quite the catch."

Yong Soo then gave a mischievous smirk, "Have you got a thing for _hyeong _Quan, Mathias?"

"Eh?" the Dane arched an eyebrow, but gave a hearty laugh as he shook his head and smacked Yong Soo's back. "Nah! I mean, sure your cousin's pretty good-looking, but nah – he ain't my type for one thing, and second; I'm pretty much straight and have a badass girlfriend." He then petted Yong Soo's head and nodded, "But it's really great to see him going up and about in a relationship! 'Bout time he moved on from Allie."

"I _know_, right?" Mei sighed. "He was so torn up about it…honestly, I wanted to slap him before…"

"Don't blame you," nodded Mathias in agreement. "I know your cousin's smart, but really, this was the only time he's been so stupid – I couldn't believe it myself; I mean, when she sucked him dry, it should've been obvious, right? If a chick ever swindled me of my money, I'd just drop her – no questions whatsoever! But Louise; she's Ms Independent! Can take care of herself, provide her own money, pays her own taxes, the like!"

"I wonder how you were able to score her, da ze," grinned Yong Soo. "She's got a nice pair on her, too."

"Hey, hey!" Mathias snorted as he shook his head and waved his hand about dismissively. "No talking about my girlfriend like that, little guy! You're still just a hormonal little teenager – ain't ready for a woman yet! Go chase the skirts of your high school girl mates and leave the woman to me!"

Kasem simply heaved a sigh as he prepared the food; admittedly, the atmosphere became much brighter right now with all the light-hearted bantering, but still…

_'Why do I get the feeling that something bad is going to happen, ana?' _he wondered to himself. However, seeing how more uplifted Mathias was with Yong Soo and Mei, the Thai man shook his head and simply observed quietly.

* * *

"It was a nice day today, _mi amor_," said Antonio as he snuggled closer to Quan in the bed, lying his head against his human's hip and on his thigh. "Dinner was lovely as usually, and I liked spending time with you on the beach, too~"

Quan simply gave a little amused snort as he looked through more sheets of paper on his sitting position, "Honestly, I enjoyed it a lot, too – it reminds me of the time we spent together before you moved in."

Antonio chuckled lightly as he looked up at Quan, _'Si_, it made me think of those times, too. And it felt so nice to stretch my tail around in the water again."

"You know," the Vietnamese man spoke up. "We can do it again tomorrow if you want; wouldn't you get dried out?"

The red-tailed merman laughed loudly; he seemed to find this funny. He shook his head, "Quan; merpeople can't die from getting dried up if we drink, too, you do know that, right? I get nice meals, drinks included, and I'm perfectly fine!"

Quan flashed him a small smile from his typically serious face, "Heh…you do have a point there." He then placed his hand down on Antonio's forehead, "And you feel just fine to me, too." He then ran the hand down to the merman's cheek and stroked it tenderly, "You're not sick in any way to me."

"Fusososo, I'm not sick," giggled Antonio in that rather odd little chanting laugh he did that made Quan himself have a crack of a smile appear on his face. "There's no need to worry about me!" he then gave a little scowl as he reached his other hand up and laid it to rest against Quan's forehead; underneath his matted raven bangs. At once, the merman felt skin burn slightly against skin as his human immediately turned red upon the close contact. "But you, _mi corazón_…how about you? How are you feeling, really? You feel so hot yourself right now; are you alright?" his face then contorted to one filled with great anxiousness. "You're not sick…are you? _Ay Dios mio_, I hope not."

Quan licked his lips as he felt his face flush immediately; when Antonio touched his cheek, he would feel those familiar sparks emitting from the contact – where his heart would beat faster and swell in pleasure. Seeing the red-tailed merman look worried, the Vietnamese man opened his mouth; about to respond that no, he was just fine and that his flushing was just a simple and normal body reaction, but…

"I _am _sick, actually," responded Quan rather tonelessly. "_Very _sick."

Antonio's heart instantly stopped, his breath hitched into his throat as he cried, "_Qué_?! Oh no!" he then shot up from the bed and immediately came closer, feeling at his human's face with both hands as he panicked, "You're sick?! Why didn't you tell me?! _Ay Dios mio_! We have to go and tell Kasem about it! He'll know what to do! Oh! Or you should go and see a doctor! Doctors can definitely help you, _mi tesero_! But please, don't try and put off how you're so sick! It'll just make things worse! What are you even sick with?"

Here, there was a spark the lit in the Vietnamese man's eyes as he gazed at the merman across from him. "What am I sick with?" he questioned; echoing the merman's inquiry.

Antonio nodded vigorously, "_Si_! What's wrong? Where does it hurt? What do you think you're sick with?"

"Well, I'm afraid I'm lovesick."

Antonio stopped from babbling; his emerald eyes stretching wide as he gazed at his human. "_Q…qué_…? Lovesick…?" he breathed.

"Yes," the Vietnamese man nodded as he simply skimmed through his pieces of paper at the financial statistics, satisfied at seeing the expression on his loved one's face. "And that fault will have to be yours, Antonio; you _made _me lovesick – I was a different man before I met you. However, with you in my life…I'm an entirely different man; and I don't want to change back into the previous incarnation."

Antonio's eyes were sparkling endearingly as he pressed himself closer against his human. "_Mi amor_…" he murmured in a soft, yet affectionate tone. "Your illness is very, _very _contagious, it seems~"

Quan simply gave a rumbling chuckle in his throat as he placed a hand in Antonio's soft, mocha-coloured locks and planted a kiss to his temple. "Now, get some sleep," he said gently. "Good night, Antonio."

"_Buenos noches_, _mi amor_~"

* * *

"_**Get back! Get back here!"**_

The choking gasps grew worse as he thrashed around; his fists were banging and bashing at the bed's mattress surface. A rapid pouring of voices were babbled and garbled in his head as is mouth hung open.

However, unlike the previous nights from before; this one was becoming clearer and clearer.

And soon; things were far more distinguishable.

There was the docks.

And there he was.

As well as his figure that was overlooking the edge of the docks – at the great expanse of crystalline blue.

Then he saw that face again.

"_**Don't! No!"**_

The face was now more properly distinct, albeit it was still hard to recognize it properly. However, the features were much better at pinning down, and he could see _just _make out the face that was part of the mass.

A young and youthful face with non-blemished tanned skin had a seemingly warm and bright smile that was aimed directly at them. That face also had sparkling, twinkling eyes and short, spiky dark tresses that were traced with little clear droplets.

The face opened its mouth and that song was heard once more – a saddened and sweet song that he could not properly hear and the words were much easier made out.

And before he knew it, the figure had hunched down again, in a diving position, and…just like before, he sprung off the balls of his feet and straight into the huge expanse as he tried to reach him; this time, no winds or gales were blowing him back, but he was too late in grabbing him from preventing him from jumping.

Then the face disappeared and he saw something else.

A shimmering, light blue tail with indigo fins.

"…_**back! Give him back!"**_

He was soon submerged into wet water, and his lungs were burning as he choked and spluttered. He was running out of air, as his throat gargled and he flailed his arms around, desperately clawing his way up…

…and he shot up again in his bed, gasping and heaving for breath.

However, this time, his usually warm-hearted baby blues were filled with an intense rage.

"I remember properly…" he breathed in husky, deep gasps. "I remember…you…you better pray that you don't _ever _see me again…because when I freaking _see _your mug again…you're going to wish you've never been alive!"

Finally regaining his composure after more deep breaths, Mathias glanced through the window to see that the sun was already starting to rise over the horizon – signalling that it was morning. The Dane ran a hand through his spiky, pale blonde locks as he heaved himself out of his bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower and use the spraying flow to fully immerse himself in reality again.

And with that, he came out to start tending the garden.

As the sun made its place in the sky, Mathias was happily munching on a sandwich that Mei had made for him while Yong Soo was playing a fighting video game that involved blasting beams at each other, as well as some sort of Pandora Box, when he saw Quan gather his paddle and place his straw hat on his head. The Dane beamed at him, "Going off to work now, huh? When you getting back? Your boyfriend really misses having you around him; I can tell you that!"

The Vietnamese man nodded, though he was definitely blushing, "Yes, I am. I'll be back by two, though." He then glanced at the clock, "Yes. Two is a good time for me to come home." Quan then tapped Yong Soo, "Hoi! I told Mei to wake up Antonio if he hasn't woken up by two yet, but she seems to be busy with some sort of slumber party, and is most likely talking to friends through video chat or something like that; so if she doesn't end up doing that and Antonio isn't in his wheelchair, then you go wake him up, okay?"

"Hey, you know I can wake him up if you want, Quan," spoke up Mathias since Yong Soo was far too focused on his game. "It'll be no problem at all!"

However, the Vietnamese man's eyes widened a little as he shook his head, "No; I wouldn't recommend that. You and Antonio still don't know each other that well like he knows Yong Soo and Mei – he gets…_really _grumpy when woken up abruptly. He told me he might sleep for a bit longer today, and to wake him up when I'm coming home – two o'clock in this case. But, you shouldn't have to worry, Mathias – Mei or Yong Soo will wake him up, so really, just continue with your routine, please."

Mathias scowled as he nodded; watching the Vietnamese man's form retreat from the house. The Danish man was rubbing his chin as Yong Soo continued moving wildly around with the controller in his hands. After eating his sandwich, Mathias went out back into the garden to tend to the flowers.

And during all that time, he still couldn't what ran through his head last night…

_His own desperate screaming…_

_That lilting voice singing…_

_Him jumping off the dock in slow motion as he landed into the great, blue mass…_

_That glittering tail with the sparkling fins…_

'**Damn**_** you!'**_

Unfortunately, Mathias accidentally chomped off a branch, and understandably, the Dane stared at it in gaping shock. He gave an exasperated sigh as he placed it in the fresher soil, trying to collect his thoughts together.

But the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, however, he squashed down those negative feelings – he didn't want them all to worry about him. No, they shouldn't _have _to worry; he wasn't weak, and he didn't want them to know that it was his fault that…

Mathias shook his head as he wiped the sweat from his brow; soon putting himself through rigorous tasks to get his mind off of it. His muscles ached and his great, muscular chest was heaving up and down as he panted; trying to recollect his breath as he fixed the garage. More sweat trickled down the sides of his head; prompting him to go into the bathroom and wash at his now oily and sweaty face – eventually wiping away the cool drops with a fluffy, little towel.

Upon exiting his bathroom, the Dane glanced up at the ticking grandfather clock and was shocked to see that time had somehow fast-forwarded greatly – it was already five to two.

Peeping around the wall – he saw that Yong Soo was still immersed in playing video games; this time he was playing some sort of game that involved carts and some red plumber.

Not wanting to disturb the Korean boy (since said Korean boy would flip if he ever got interrupted during his game playing), and because he wanted Quan to know that he could trust him, Mathias had climbed up the stairs with his hand on the railing. Coming upstairs, he could hear Mei talking on and on excitedly – something about boys.

"He's quite cute, don't you think? I mean, really! His hair is so nice, and he has gorgeous eyes!"

Mathias couldn't help but smirk to himself as he continued quietly so as not to disturb her little sessions. The Danish man reached Quan's room and knocked on the door, calling out loud, "Hey, Antonio! Time to get up! It's two in the afternoon!"

No response.

He tried again one last time before turning the knob and entering Quan's room. There, the Dane could see his Vietnamese employer's lover in a peaceful slumber, one hand under the pillow, and the blanket up to his chest.

Seeing him snuggle in the warm sheets, Mathias couldn't help but envy him – if only he could sleep as peaceably as him. The Dane gave an inaudible sigh as he came to the curtains, noticing that they were still covering the window – darkening the room quite a bit. He then placed his hands on the edges of the curtains and with an easy, quick movement of his arms, opened the blinds.

At once, arrays of sunlight poured through the window, shining down on the Dane and the sleeping Antonio.

Antonio gave a little groan as he curled inwardly a bit, mumbling in a low ton.

Mathias placed his hands on his hips as he took a deep breath, "Wow…I didn't know how nice the day really was!" turning around to face Antonio, he was rather annoyed to see that he was still sleeping in the bed, "Hey, wake up! Come and enjoy the sunlight for once! It's a great day today! And I'm pretty sure Quan's gonna make it home soon!"

Antonio moaned again, grumbling lowly, prompting Mathias to come forward and lightly shake at his shoulder, "Come on! Get up, already! It's like two o'clock! Don't you wanna see Quan again?"

"Quan…" Antonio murmured dreamily as he nestled even more in the bed, a smile appearing on his face.

Mathias blinked and sighed as he began tugging on the blankets, "Come on, already…get up! Up you get, now! Get up."

Antonio didn't offer much resistance; he simply rolled onto his back and tugged sluggishly back, but it was obvious that sleep still had hold on him, and really, since Mathias was quite strong himself and _really _wanted to wake up his employer's lover, it was really no surprise that the Dane was able to just yank the blanket off of the bed, and ultimately, off of Antonio's body.

But what _was _a great shock was what lay underneath.

Mathias' jaw dropped when his pale blue eyes caught sight of what was before him.

'_A tail…with fins...and a tanned human torso...!'_

Antonio was burrowing into the sheets and the bed, his scarlet tail rippling in accordance to his own body movement – the golden fins twinkling as the sun's rays bounced upon it. The merman was smiling in his sleep, too.

All at once, Mathias felt everything just turn upside down, but before he knew it, he was flooded by all the nightmares and memories that cursed him with restless sleeplessness. He could hear it all over again: the angry shouting, the desperate cries and pleads that escalated to screaming, the singing voice in the strong and smooth alto that sang of a sad tale about hearing one other's voice, watching him jump off of the dock and immediately submerging underneath…

But that tail…

It glowed more vividly in his mind in a great flash the more he gazed down at the red-tailed merman.

And soon, Mathias was seeing red as his breathing grew gaunt and deep – his baby blues now filled with an intense hatred as his whole body trembled in outrage at seeing the creature underneath him.

Antonio himself was starting to come to – hearing the heavy breathing, and assumed that Quan had come home from a hard day's work. The red-tailed merman couldn't help but smile at this; his human was so industrious, and he loved it when he rested with him – in particular, he loved to snuggle against him and be held close by those firm, working arms.

He was rather surprised at cracking open his emerald eyes and seeing Mathias glaring down at him spitefully with his face twisted into a furious expression.

No, that can't be right: Mathias was a cheerful and upbeat human.

Thinking that is was due to the fact that he was still riddled with sleep and reasonably groggy, Antonio gave a wide yawn as he arched his back, stretching himself slightly – his arms going outwards, and his red tail extending with the golden fins even curling inward. "Mathias…?" he was slightly disappointed that it wasn't his human, but he couldn't help but smile; this human was quite nice, and a friend to his human's, so therefore, he was a friend of his, too.

But before he could greet the Dane good morning and ask for the time, strong hands suddenly shot out and harshly gripped around his throat, starting to squeeze mercilessly.

Antonio gave a startled cry of shock and sudden pain, but it was quickly cut off to a choked gasp as his hands immediately clutched at the wrists of the powerful pair of hands that were wrapped around his neck. His emerald green hues widened as he started struggling around; trying desperately to pull the large hands off of him, which were roughly squeezing; cruelly taking away the sweet air.

During this time, Mathias was yelling at him; voice reaching a higher octave in rage as his eyes flared in huge, smouldering infernos that were threatening to burn the red-tailed merman to cinders.

"_Damn_ you!"

* * *

_And yes, I have to end it here - but rest assured, the next chapter will have questions answered, though it's definitely not over yet. But now, you should have a basic understanding as to what's happening with Mathias, and why he's acting this way now, and I'm pretty much expecting someone to comment about Denmark and mermaids, but what I _will _say is that Mathias has a reason to act like this._

_Why is Mathias so angry with Antonio? What was he seeing in his dreams? Will Antonio be rescued in time?_

_Thoughts and opinions? Hope you have a pleasant day, everyone. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	14. The Result of Rage, Regret and Ruination

_Hello, it's HetaWriter/HetaReader here; bringing to you another chapter. :D_

_A BIG thanks goes to **4nim3fr33k **for the fave, and to **xXBlueSariaXx **for the review. :DDD_

**_xXBlueSariaXx:_**_ Well, wonder no more! Mathias' reason is here in this chapter, and well...I'll say it right now that he's _very _bitter about it. Don't worry; I have no intention of killing Antonio. XD yes, those are all indeed justifiable reasons - and well...you're quite correct on them. ^_^' well, I don't know - I always look at the year someone turns into and compare them together, however that's just me. ;)_

_Cue ongoing scene!_

* * *

Antonio could feel his whole world spin around him in dizzying colours as he choked – Mathias' powerful grip throttling at his throat as he could hear the blonde human's furious screaming that pounded at his eardrums become more and more muffled. He started to slip more into unconsciousness as he submerged into a pool of empty darkness that swallowed him.

Honestly, he didn't expect this to happen, but then again…he neglected the fact that there _were _bad humans out there.

Just like there were bad merpeople.

Quan made him forget that fact because he was only kind and loving towards him.

'_Quan…'_

Antonio's emerald eyes suddenly shot up and, with his own grip tightening on Mathias', he brought his tail up. With a great swing of it, he was able to whack the Danish man away from him.

Mathias gave a surprised yelp as pain blossomed at his stomach where the red-tailed merman had struck him. However, as the Dane was knocked back, he had grabbed hold onto the closest thing to prevent him from losing his balance and falling over since he hadn't expected the forceful blow from the creature's tail.

What his hand grabbed onto was the white sheets.

At once, with a shocked scream, Antonio had ended up rolling off the bed from Mathias' accidental stripping of the warm sheets. The red-tailed merman landed with a loud thump on the carpeted floor as he looked up fearfully at the wheezing Dane who was still trying to collect himself from getting whacked rather hard. Looking around frantically; Antonio saw that the door was wide open – he began crawling as quickly as he could; his body wriggling and rippling on the floor.

Mathias gave out a cough as he rubbed at his chest from his spot, the blazing cold fire in his eyes as he caught sight of the merman trying to make his escape. "No, you freaking _don't_!" the Dane yelled as he suddenly dived right at Antonio – his hands grabbing his tail. "You're not going anywhere!"

Antonio gave a frightened squeak as he began writhing and thrashing around; desperately trying to get out of the enraged human's grip. "Mathias let me go!" he cried frantically. "Please! Why are you doing this?!"

"Don't lie to me!" shrieked the Dane as he pulled him towards him and reared back a fist. "You know what you did!"

"No, I don't! What did I do?!"

"I _said _don't _lie _to _me_!"

Antonio hit him again with his tail – this time on the head. Mathias was stunned for a moment, prompting the merman to deliver a swift right hook at the Dane's face, and attempt to escape from his clutches again. "Mei! Yong Soo! Kasem!" he screamed at the top of his lungs as he tried to get out of the room again. "Help! Please, help me!"

"Gotcha now, you little son of a bitch!"

All of a sudden, Mathias had taken hold of Antonio's tail again, only this time, he heaved him up from the tail with no problem at all; dangling the poor merman so that he was upside down, much like a strung fish in the market. Antonio gave a terrified squeal as the whole world literally turned upside down – he was wriggling and flailing around helplessly; trying his hardest to shake and possibly attempt to get out of the Dane's clutches, but the blonde human had a grip of iron, and his muscular arms weren't showing any indication to letting go any time sooner.

"You…" Mathias heaved as he glowered down at Antonio, causing the merman to tremble in fright.

"Mathias…why are you doing this?" whimpered the merman, gazing up at him in questioning fear. "You've never acted like this before-"

"Shut up!" snapped the Dane, his pupils contracting and his nostrils flared. Antonio flinched at the barking bellow as Mathias continued, "Don't sound so fucking innocent! I'm going to _enjoy _gutting you!"

"G-gutting me…?!" Antonio asked; what exactly was that? He had no idea what it was, but it sounded tremendously painful – and the merman didn't like experiencing any forms of it.

"_Ja_…" there was a maddened gleam that shone in Mathias' eyes as he dropped Antonio at the other side of the bed – closer to the locked balcony and. The merman gave a little yelp when he was mercilessly dropped down into the squeezed space, and he looked up, backing away slightly on his palms as Mathias' eyes fixated onto something in Quan's room. "Gutting you…"

"W-what…what is gutting…?" Antonio tried to keep his voice level, but it was a difficult task. His heart was beating in a dangerously rapid pace in his toned chest, and there was no way for him to control his shaking and trembling as he observed the Danish man who went to one of Quan's walls.

"Put it this way," Mathias' voice was cold and low; chillingly different to the usually warm and upbeat cheer he always had before. "I'm going to enjoy gutting you _open _like a fish!"

Turning around, the thing he picked off from Quan's wall was that strange spear-like weapon that the Vietnamese man had kept on there. Antonio didn't know whether or not that was a real weapon, however, he wasn't inclined to stay put and try out.

However, as he tried to back off, he found his bare back making contact with a cold wall,

Mathias was coming closer and closer in a progressively quickened pace, and for a moment, Antonio thought that things were going to be over, and that he would either be left as a bloody mess, or that Mathias would get rid of his remains.

However, that was when a loud voice shouted, "Mathias! Stop that, da ze!"

Antonio saw Mei and Yong Soo immediately wrap their arms around Mathias' great figure from behind – trying desperately to pull him back. Still, it was a rather difficult task; considering that Mathias was a full grown adult man who had a daily working out schedule and that there were two teenagers pulling on him; and also, he was determined and thirsting for merman blood right about now.

"Antonio, run!" Mei shrieked as she heaved at the Danish man with her cousin. "Crawl! Whatever! Just get out of here!"

"No, you don't!" yelled Mathias as he thrashed and flailed around – his arm raised back to hurl the spear at Antonio. "I'll kill you for what you've done!"

"What is going _on _here, ana~?" Kasem calmly entered the room, scratching his head, when he caught sight of the bizarre and horrendous display before him. The Thai man's brown eyes widened so much that the whites were visible, and his jaw dropped.

"_Hyeong _Kasem!" Yong Soo shouted as he struggled keeping Mathias in check – he was honestly doing the job more than poor Mei who was tugging at the Dane's waist. "Help us, da ze!"

The Thai man immediately ran forward and ran in front of Mathias; pushing him back with his hands and providing as a barrier in between him and Antonio. Kasem exclaimed, "Mathias! What on earth are you doing?!"

"Get outta the way, Kasem!" seethed Mathias as he stretched his arm higher so he wouldn't hit the Thai man – though Kasem was a considerate distance, the Dane didn't want to take any chances.

"Why are you reacting this way to Antonio?" inquired Kasem. "What has he done to you?!"

"I haven't done anything to him!" cried Antonio. "Really! I haven't!"

"He hasn't done anything to me, but watch!" shouted Mathias. "He _will _do something! His lot!"

"_His_ lot?" echoed Mei; her own eyes stretching widely. "You know that…?"

"That these little pieces of crap exist?!" snorted Mathias. "Heck yeah, I do! And if killing _one _is compensation for what happened; then fine! I have no problem in killing this one!"

"But you're from Denmark!" yelled Yong Soo in exasperation. "You're supposed to love mermaids!"

Mathias stopped for a moment and looked at the Korean boy ludicrously, "That's like saying all Swiss people are goat-milking Heidi people who love to yodel!" he then turned his attention back onto Antonio and raised his spear arm again as Kasem then tried to push Mathias back with all his might – which proved to actually work, considering the fact that Kasem was definitely not small, with doing kickboxing as a pastime.

Antonio grabbed onto the bed's edge and heaved himself up to crawl over the bed and make his escape out of the room while the humans were all shouting and screaming in voices that soon garbled and melded with each other in a chaotic mess of pitches and tones. Yong Soo was shouting, Kasem was trying to comfortingly appease the Dane, while Mei was tearfully pleading him to stop.

Seeing the tears spring into Mei's eyes, the red-tailed merman became hesitant; wanting to come over and just hug her and assure her that things were going to be okay.

Despite them obviously not being so, and it was all just disorder and mayhem.

A suddenly sharp snapping sound of wood making contact with the doorframe made everyone stop with what they were doing and turn around to see what caused the abrupt noise.

Quan was standing at the doorway – his paddle was out, and apparently, he rapped its flat surface against the wall, creating that loud sound that ceased everyone's movements, though they were all panting from the gist of the whole thing.

The Vietnamese man was making his way home and only just a few steps from his house, he could hear the shouting, yelling and swearing emanating from within – in _his room_.

Frozen with dread, Quan had immediately bolted inside, fearful that something horrible might've happened to Antonio, and upon entering the room – saw the rather shocking sight of Mathias with his _Phác Đao_, which he kept on his wall with some other weapons just in case. He also noticed that Antonio was on the bed, too, right on his belly.

"Quan!" the merman exclaimed, immediately brightening in relief at the sight of him. "I'm so glad you came!"

The Vietnamese man instantly came to his lover's side and held him protectively as he murmured comforting words into his ear, calming him down. Quan felt horrid from the shaking and trembling that the merman was making, too. He then slowly raised his head – his honey-gold orbs were glowing in angry flames as he slowly stood up and before Antonio, his glare directed straight at Mathias who was panting heavily, taking husky, deep breaths as he deflated upon the sight of his boss. "You can let go of him now," Quan said, voice frosty and tone quietly sharp.

That voice caused unpleasant chills to run down Antonio's spine.

Mei and Yong Soo immediately let go of the Dane and watched quietly as Kasem joined them. Quan was glowering silently at Mathias; despite being noticeably shorter than the Dane, he faced him directly and gazed him right in the eye – golden eyes sharp as daggers.

Mathias could only stare back at him, however, to say that he wasn't scared would be foolish. There was a reason why the Dane had treated the Vietnamese man with a lot of respect besides the fact that Quan respected him as well – his Asian employer was scary as crap when the time came around and his temper was pushed. The Danish man remembered when Quan found out that he was robbed from someone he trusted – he was not only sad, but _furious_.

And the result was the chipped, wooden pieces of two rowboats as well as a battered punching bag that needed replacing.

He was skinnier and shorter, but Quan was definitely not a pushover; you couldn't be one especially where you were required to have a mind for your business to thrive.

"Mathias," Quan spoke up in an unnervingly calm voice. He lowered his hand which held his paddle, "I see you now know what Antonio is."

"Yeah, well no kidding," Mathias said rather edgily; he knew that he was being rather disrespectful right now to his employer, but he just couldn't help it. "You didn't tell me you were keeping that…that…" he then spat, "_Disgusting monster_ here in your own bed and home!"

Antonio was horrified at being called that and his jaw dropped open, "_Qué_? Monster? Me?"

"Don't act all innocent and cute!" snarled Mathias. "I know what you lot are capable of! Ohoho! _Very _well…" he glared down at Antonio – gaze empowering and menacing much like his towering form. "You like it, huh? Tempting humans to do whatever the hell you want – making us do crap against our will. Must feel nice, right? Were you planning on taking Quan away, too?"

"W-what…?" Antonio gaped. "No! Never! I'd never do that!"

"Don't throw your bullshit at me!" yelled Mathias as he waved the spear, prompting Quan to stand guard defensively with his own paddle raised. "If you meant that, then give me back my best friend!"

Here, Yong Soo quickly spoke up, "'_Best friend?'_ Who do you mean by that?"

Suddenly, Mathias' whole figure deflated, and a flash appeared in his pale blue eyes – a sliver of grief and a pang of agony as that memory that haunted his sleep and plagued his dreams appeared more vividly before him: now in full focus and with no detail left out. The Dane shut his eyes as he let out a deep breath.

"Take your time, ana," Kasem said gently, coming carefully forward and placing a hand on the Danish man's chiselled arm. "We're all ears…"

Mathias' eyes shot open as he gazed at the Thai man; his once infuriated expression melted to one of great remorse. The Dane then responded, "You heard me; my best friend. Norge…"

'_The name I kept on hearing whenever he had those nightmares, ana,'_ Kasem thought to himself as his glasses shone slightly in recognition. "And…what about this Norge fellow?" questioned the Thai man.

"His real name is Lukas," said Mathias in an unusually soft voice that was traced with sadness. "Lukas Thomassen…"

"Wait," Mei perked up. "_Thomassen_? That's Emil's last name – wait, so wouldn't that mean that Lukas is-?!"

"Yeah," the Dane nodded. "Lukas is Emil's older brother."

"Really?" here, Yong Soo was shocked. "But…I heard from Tino and Berwald that he disappeared years ago; nobody knows what happened to him and where he is now."

A flicker of furious flame flared in Mathias' eyes as they narrowed to dangerous slits, "Yeah? Well, Lukas didn't disappear – he was _taken_." He then stabbed a finger at Antonio, "By one of _his _lot!"

"When…did this happen? _What _exactly happened?" Quan questioned calmly, though he was very surprised to hear this – he had heard from Sadik and his wife that there had once been a Norwegian boy by the name of Lukas Thomassen, but he disappeared without a trace or even words of where he was going or left off to.

It was as if he vanished out of thin air.

Mathias faltered; recoiling slightly as the memory played again; prompting him to speak of a past event that only he himself knew alone. "Well…" he murmured. "This is what happened…"

* * *

"_Hey, Norge!" a loud and boisterous Danish boy called excitedly at his friend as he ran up to him while holding navy blue robes and a cap. "There you are, buddy!"_

_His best friend, a Norwegian boy with short, light blonde hair and dull, storm blue eyes heaved a sigh as he turned his attention from the window to the upbeat Dane. "I can hear you perfectly fine; there is no need to shout," he said, tone slightly annoyed. "Now, what is it this time?"_

"_Can you really believe it?!" Mathias grinned widely like the Cheshire cat as he raised up and dangled the blue robes and the cap before his best friend's face. "We're really graduating! We're gonna get out of this place soon and do whatever we want! Isn't this amazing?!"_

_Lukas gave a half-hearted shrug, "You do know that with more freedom comes much more responsibility and risks, right?"_

"_Awww, come on, Norge!" the Dane pouted. "That may be…but there's also fun and adventure! Stuff that the world will throw at you! What _will _the world throat at you? What do you think?"_

_Lukas rubbed at his chin as he this time shrugged both shoulders, "Not sure on what to say to that; that is for the world to decide, and for the world alone…"_

"_Yeah, and I'm ready for it!" Mathias punched his fists up excitedly. "Bring it on, world! Mathias Densen is here to take you on! I ain't afraid of you! I'm ready to fight with all I got!"_

_The Norwegian boy gave a snort at his Danish best friend's enthusiasm, however, the corners of his lips moved slightly upward to form a small smile in his direction._

_Their graduation day came so quickly, that Mathias felt that it was only just yesterday that he had showed Lukas his largely sized robes, but even then, the Dane found that he was actually a bit too tall for the large size and they reached up to _just _below his knees rather than his calves like everyone else. Throughout the ceremony, he would sneak and steal glances at his best friend; flashing him a big, bright beam and a thumbs-up every so often, and a funny expression at others – one time giving a covered, inaudible yawn during the deputy principal's speech._

_Lukas stared back, unamused, however the snort he gave at the Dane's expression was actually his way of expressing how he thought his best friend's gesture was funny. And in all honesty, he was getting rather bored of the ceremony and wanted it to be over already._

"_Man, that took so long!" Mathias sighed as he took off his cap and fanned himself with it. "Damn…it was getting really hot in there, too!"_

_Lukas shrugged, "I didn't mind it, honestly." _

"_Really?" Mathias' baby blues widened. "Wow, Norge…are you part snowman or something?"_

_The Norwegian boy was unamused, "That was terrible, anko."_

_Mathias guffawed, "Hey! Can't blame a guy for trying, right?" he and his best friend were walking along the pier that was somewhat out of town; closer to that white beach house that nobody had chosen to buy yet – it was rather high in price. So naturally, it was a great spot to spend time alone together with nobody to come and interrupt you – that is, until someone buys and moves into the house._

"_It is a beautiful afternoon," Lukas said; face still point blank, but eyes shining fondly at the beautiful, blue ocean that shimmered with the sun's rays dappling on its salty surface. "The sea looks calm for once, too."_

"_Yeah," Mathias sighed contentedly as he stretched and inhaled deeply; welcoming the salty smell. "It's awesome." As his best friend nodded, the Dane then spoke up in a much softer and more serious tone, "Hey, Norge…?"_

_Lukas turned his head around; surprised at how serene and serious the usually cheery and wild Dane was. "What is it?" the Norwegian boy asked with a slight scowl furrowing on his features._

"_You know what you're gonna do with your life, don't you?" Mathias asked. "You wanted to be a physician or something, didn't ya?"_

_Lukas nodded, "Yes, that is correct. Why? What's the matter, anko?"_

"_Well…" here, the Dane scratched at the back of his head, eyes planted to the ground at first before he diverted their gaze to the sea, "It's just…you already know what you wanna do in your life; how do you know that? You're not scared of getting rejected or failing? What if you don't make it?"_

_Lukas arched an eyebrow at the thoughtful question and how serious his best friend looked, but nonetheless, after collecting his thoughts together and mulling it over, he finally responded, "Well…yes, I _do _want to be a physician, preferably, however that saying so, as I said before; you really _don't _know what the world is going to throw at you – only the world knows and decides on that. You only have to try and face it the best that you can, and continue one. Rejection and failure…I know that we'll face them several times in life; we just need to persevere. Persevere and try again, otherwise if I keep failing – I shall just have to do something else, won't I?"_

_Mathias blinked as a smile spread out on his face, immediately brightening the atmosphere, "Man, you're so smart, Norge! Never thought of it that way!"_

"_It's not intelligence," Lukas said in a deadpan tone. "It's logic; something you lack."_

"_Hey, Norge?"_

"_What is it this time?"_

"_We…" the Dane licked his lips and bit the bottom one for a moment before shaking his great head and resuming his question, "We'll still be friends…right?"_

_Lukas blinked as he gazed up at the Danish boy, whose baby blues were glimmering with hope right down at him. The Norwegian boy heaved another sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest and took a few steps forward at the docks to get a closer look at the great expanse laid before them. He spread his arms out slightly and let the cool breeze billow through the rather loose sleeves of his graduation robes._

"_Of course, anko. Of course."_

_That was all Mathias could ever want or ask for; his smile grew even wider (if that was possible) as he immediately bound forward and wrapped his arms around the Norwegian boy, enveloping him into a rather crushing bear-hug. "Yeah! Friends forever, Norge!" he roared happily._

_Lukas rolled his eyes as he winced slightly in the Dane's grip and was about to tell him off, when he could just _hear _something._

**"_Ah-ah-ah-ah ahhh…"_**

"_Wait, Mathias let go of me and shut up for a moment."_

_Mathias stopped laughing in glee and let go of his best friend; noticing the focused dark blue eyes and how knotted the Norwegian boy's eyebrows were. "Huh? What's up, Norge-?" he began, only to be cut off by his shushing._

_Lukas gazed out at the sea, eyes now slits as he glanced prudently around – scanning the area carefully. _

_That was when he saw something that amazed him._

_There was what appeared to be a young boy in the water._

"_Anko…" the Norwegian boy muttered. "I'm not going mad, am I? But is there someone in the water over there?"_

_Mathias blinked and looked at the direction that Lukas was looking at, and squinted. The Dane's eyes widened in surprise as he blinked, "Hey, no – you're right! I see him there, too!" he then cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "Hey! You over there! Why are you all alone and just randomly floating around in the middle of the ocean? Do you know how rough the waves can get?"_

_The young boy slowly turned his head to face them; his big ochre eyes shining curiously as they settled on the two graduated boys who were on the dock. He blinked as he tilted his head; his short, spiky black-brown hair was dripping droplets of salty water._

"_Don't be afraid," Lukas said in a calm and gentle voice as he came a little closer. "It's okay; we won't hurt you – why are you swimming all alone in the middle of the ocean?"_

_Suddenly, the boy's face broke out into a warm beam; shocking Mathias and both unnerving and annoying Lukas. Then next, he dived underwater and swam just that _little _bit closer to them…_

…_but not before splashing the both of them._

_Mathias coughed and hacked the salty water as he called, "Hey! Watch it next time!" he and Lukas however froze at what they were seeing._

_A light blue tale made of cascading scales, with ribbon-like indigo fins._

"_A tail…?" breathed Lukas._

"_Whoa! That's a mermaid!" exclaimed Mathias. "Well…merman here – I heard about them in stories; I didn't really think they were real…!"_

_The merman's head then popped up from the water as he ran both his hands through his hair, seemingly fixing at his slightly spiky locks as he softly shut his eyes and glanced right at Lukas, breathing rather huskily. The Norwegian boy only stared back, feeling heat gather to his pale cheeks as the beautiful creature gazed solely onto him._

_Then all of a sudden, the merman opened his mouth and the most beautiful voice that Lukas had ever heard resonated around him – softly invading his ears and taking great hold of his mind. It was a younger mezzo-alto; signalling that the merman was probably still considerably young – maybe even possibly younger than them if they were calculating in human years – however, it was enchanting and strong; soft at some part as well._

"_**The day starts, the day ends, time crawls by."**_

"_Oh, crap!" Mathias exclaimed as he immediately placed his hands over his ears. He immediately took a great number of steps away from the edge of the pier, "He's giving us the siren song in his siren voice! Cover your ears, Norge! Quick!"_

_Lukas blinked, snapped back to present, and placed his own hands over his ears, however, more of that beautiful voice was waltzing right into his ear – caressing and stroking at his ears._

"_**Night steals in, pacing the floor. The moments creep, yet I can't bear to sleep, 'til I hear you sing…"**_

"_No!" Mathias yelled, seeing Lukas slowly lower his hands as he gazed out to the sea; his sapphire blue eyes fixated upon the merman. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Don't! Don't do it!" _

_Much to his horror; his Norwegian best friend was taking slow steps towards the edge of the dock, coming closer and closer._

"_**And weeks pass, and months pass, seasons fly."**_

_Seeing Lukas suddenly lean down and look over the edge, eyes still fixated upon the merman who was singing straight to him._

_Slowly, he then turned his head around – revealing his dull sapphire eyes were now glazed and unseeing; seemingly in a sort of trance._

"_What're you doing?! Get away from there!" screamed Mathias; his baby blues widening as his tone gained an octave in desperation. "Get back! Get back here!"_

_The merman only smiled widely as he beckoned with his hand; continuously singing in that voice that would forever haunt Mathias' mind._

"_**Still you don't walk through the door. And in a haze, I count the silent days…"**_

"_No!" Mathias cried, seeing Lukas bend his knees down and went into a diving position. The Dane then began running to his best friend – his hands outstretched in a desperate attempt to grab him._

_However, the next scene played in slow motion to him._

_His own pleads and shouting were becoming more muted as Lukas finally sprung off from the soles of his feet; effectively jumping over the edge, and causing a great splash as he submerged into the ocean with Mathias' fingertips only brushing on the robes before he landed in the ocean himself._

_The Dane was blinking furiously underwater as he saw the merman take hold of Lukas and lead him away; his light blue tail glimmering underwater._

_That smile was mocking him; teasing him._

_In a hasty attempt to shout out loud, the Danish man accidentally swallowed some of the salty water – causing it to rub and strike harshly in his throat as he shot up to surface, coughing terribly. He glanced around him wildly as he screamed in desperation, "Get back here! Come back! Give him back!"_

_However, there was no response that met him – just the soft murmuring of the ocean rolling and lazily stretching by. Mathias' heart beat rapidly in his chest as he looked around frantically, growing more and more panicked as he saw that there was nothing out there._

"_No…"_

_They were gone._

"_No, no…"_

_It was just the great expanse of the sea._

"_No, no, no, no, no!"_

He_ was gone._

"**Norge!"**

* * *

"He was never seen again after that…" Mathias said in a quiet whisper; his face grief-stricken. "Nobody believed me when I told them that a merman took him away either…so I had to lie and say that I honestly had no idea as to what happened to him – all I heard was a train, that's what I said." He buried his face in his hands, "_Lort_…his mother was devastated…and Emil…"

"I never knew that that was what happened to Emil's big brother," said Mei in a hushed tone.

"Neither can I," admitted Yong Soo, feeling rather uncomfortable at that moment. "Damn, da ze…"

"How many years has that been, then?" inquired Quan, honestly unsure of how to act; from his research upon discovering what had saved him before, he read about merpeople and sirens, and how there was great debate on both being one and the same or being related. But still, to actually have one town citizen taken away from one in the open? "You said it happened during graduation – you're twenty-four now, and assuming you were eighteen during graduation…"

"Yeah," Mathias nodded as he bit his bottom lip. "It's been almost six years now…" he shuddered as his hands then clenched into tight fists. "It was all my fault! I should've done something sooner! If I did, then maybe Norge…he wouldn't have-"

"Mathias, that wasn't your fault," spoke up Antonio, feeling very sad for him; he heard of some kingdoms of merpeople doing such, however that happened during the olden days – now in present, they were a peaceful race.

"Not fully, it is," the Dane's head then whipped up as he glared daggers at the red-tailed merman who shuffled nervously in his spot. "The fault also falls on you!"

"I don't take humans away!" protested Antonio. Seeing Yong Soo look away, unsure, and Kasem rather nervous while Mei buried her face in her hands, the red-tailed merman cried, "Really, I wouldn't!"

"And why should we believe you?" scoffed Mathias. "That's what you do! You take humans out to sea where they meet their doom! Sailors, swimmers, athletes, even innocent bystanders! You'll jump at the chance to whore yourself just to get humans to jump in the ocean, and for what? For your own sick amusement at seeing them drown?! Is that it?!"

"No, no, no!" Antonio shook his head vigorously at every venomous word that Mathias declared. "I wouldn't ever do that to anyone! _Nunca_! Believe me!"

"I bet you're just waiting for an even better opportunity to cause pain and misery to everyone here," taunted Mathias; not caring if his words were sharp or that little voice in his head telling and nudging him to stop from his tirade – his anger took reign over his mind and rationality; engulfing him in a great whir of strong emotions. "Am I right, or am I right?"

"You're wrong!" shouted Antonio; though it seemed as if he was shouting so loudly as a means of drowning Mathias' own voice rather than defend his case.

"That's what you want!" snarled Mathias. "You want that little opportunity to take Quan away, too! I bet you! You'll take him to the sea one day and you'll leave behind his family to cry and grieve over him! Because you're a heartless, scheming little piece of crap that hides behind a happy, pretty face!"

"No!"

"Quan," Mathias shifted his attention onto the Vietnamese man. "Chuck him back into the sea; I don't recommend keeping him around for long – trust me, he's no better than Allie – he'll stab you in the back someday…"

"Shut up!"

Everyone stared at Antonio in absolute shock. Mathias blinked, looking both surprised and outraged, "What? Got something to say to me? Then speak already!"

"I said shut _up_!" Antonio shouted; his emerald orbs were fierce, and they were shining. "How dare you lie about and judge me just because you've only met one of my kind! We are all _not _like that! In fact; we purposely try to _avoid _humans; not collect them, and certainly not drown them!"

Mathias snorted; his lip curling up, "See that? He'll throw that crap at you, too, Quan – just throw him back in the ocean. In fact, I can help you there if you want."

The red-tailed merman immediately stopped upon realizing that he wasn't helping his situation. His eyes widened as he turned to look at his human; fearful.

"_He _wasn't the one who took Lukas away, Mathias," Quan then said, raising his head. "Mathias, Antonio is right; you shouldn't be judging a whole race just because of one committing the deed – it is the same as racism in our world."

Mathias' eyes widened as his jaw dropped, "You…you're calling me a racist now?!" seeing the lack of protesting, the Danish man shrieked, "You know what?! _Screw _you lot! I'm going back to my room!" he made his way to the doorway before turning his head around and snarling, "Don't say I didn't warn you when that little sea-whore places you six feet underwater! The best idea is to get rid of him before he does anything to you! Get rid of him!"

And with that, he stormed out of the room in a huff; slamming the door behind him with such force, that the whole house rattled and quaked in fear.

Antonio looked at Mei, Yong Soo and Kasem – Quan's cousins didn't dare look him in the eye. And after a few minutes of the tense atmosphere stretching on, they left the room one-by-one without a word.

However, the merman could evidently see the doubt in Yong Soo's eyes, the wonder in Kasem's, and the sorrow in Mei's. Antonio knew that Mathias had been part of their family and home far longer than he was – and therefore, his opinion would impact them greatly. Here would probably be no exception.

'_They don't believe me…'_

After watching his cousins leave his room, Quan turned his head around to look down at his lover when he was startled upon what his eyes caught sight of.

A tear leaked from Antonio's eye and flowed down his cheek.

And before the Vietnamese man knew it, one tear soon became several as they poured down the merman's face, he then bowed his head and his shoulder rocked and heaved as he sobbed quietly – his once cheerful and bright emerald green eyes, which used to burn so optimistically, now swimming with tears and the light appearing to be shattered.

Immensely worried, Quan dropped his paddle and scooped the merman into his strong arms, enveloping him in a tight, yet tender hug, gently pushing Antonio's head into his shoulder for him to cry on.

Antonio's emerald eyes widened slightly, but he immediately gripped onto his human as he wept; holding onto him tightly, as if he were afraid that the Vietnamese man would disappear from view.

Quan ran his hand through the merman's chocolate-coloured tresses, stroking and combing through the hair as means of comfort as he quietly shushed him and whispered calming words of comfort in his ear.

"_Por favor_…" Antonio sniffed. "Please…don't throw me away…"

Quan arched an eyebrow at that.

"Don't leave me…I don't want you to leave me…" feeling the pain shoot even more unbearably in his chest, the red-tailed merman only clung onto his human tighter. "Please…keep me by your side…!"

Quan heaved a sigh, "Do you honestly think I'm going to just throw you back into the sea from all of that?" he leaned back slightly as did his lover, and flashed him a sincere and warm smile for once, "We've been through a lot together; we may be different, and Mathias and I have known each other for a long time and I value his opinion…however, I love _you_. I know also that you are incapable of such a thing; you're far too kind and naïve for your own good, to be honest. So, please…" with one of his index fingers, the Vietnamese man softly brushed away one of the tears that flowed down Antonio's face. "Stop crying and smile; smile like how you always do."

Antonio sniffed as he wiped at his face with his arm, trying just that; to smile. And well, he couldn't help but give a sheepish chuckle at his human's words – they were great comfort to him, and it made his cracked heart immediately repair itself. "_Mi amor_," he sniffed again. "You always know what to say to make me feel better…"

Quan bowed his head slightly, an amused rumble in his throat, "I try hard." Seeing the endearing gaze that the red-tailed merman was giving him, and as he wiped his tears away, the Vietnamese thought to himself, _'And I'm inclined to try even harder if it's you who needs to be comforted.'_

The red-tailed merman then settled onto his human again, snuggling close to him as he shut his eyes and heaved a sigh, _'How did I end up with someone as wonderful and understanding as you, _mi tesero_?' _

And from that, the once tense and spiteful atmosphere quietly melted away as the two lovers stayed in that position.

* * *

_End scene._

_Well, things certainly took a huge turn in regards to emotions, hasn't it? Poor Antonio...I feel kind of bad for him - at least he has Quan to comfort and hold him. :)_

_Anyway, who _was _that mystery merman who took Lukas away? Will Mathias ever recover from his bitter feelings? What will happen next, do you think?_

_This arc is still far from over - it's got a a few chapters left before we move onto another one, but yes, anyway - thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day, all of you. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	15. Time To Think & Tune Thoughts

_Greetings all, it's just me and here with another chapter. :D_

_The story has reached 30 reviews! 0.0 wow...thank you so much! 8D really, you cannot imagine how happy I feel at that achievement - it just...it lifts me up, and it means so much to me that people are seriously reading my works and actually enjoying them enough to take time off their hands and write a review for it. =^n^= so, from the bottom of my heart - I thank you all out there for this. :D_

_A BIG thanks goes to **1-Out-Of-50 **and **Young-Yan **for the faves AND the follow. And finally, BIG thanks goes to **Juju19972**, **Madam Platypus, Guest **and **xXBlueSariaXx** for the reviews! :D_

**_Juju19972:_**_ Nope, it's not. ^_^'_

**_Madam Platypus: _**_It was quite dramatic. :( well, the one who took Lukas will be revealed in the next chapter actually. ;)_

**_Guest:_**_ Thank you so much! :D_

**_xXBlueSariaXx:_**_ I feel kinda bad for Antonio actually...:( that's not the end of his problems obviously, but I won't spoil what happens since there's gonna be more things to happen after Mathias' arc. No - I don't think I could do suicide to Lukas/Norway of all people - I can't imagine him doing that, really. Hehe, just stay tuned - the next chapter will reveal who it is. ;)_

_Continuing on~_

* * *

Despite what had happened just moments before, Quan was glad to see his lover sleeping soundly right beside him in bed, snuggling close to him. However, his grip was rather tight; as if he were the merman's life support. And honestly, though a few times Quan felt rather uncomfortable in his current position (more because his posture was rather awkward rather than the close contact), he didn't mind being clung onto – Mei used to cling onto him a lot when they were younger and she was only a little child while he himself was much older and taller.

Feeling a bit of a throbbing pain shoot and purge on his shoulder, he gently removed it from Antonio's grip and though the merman's face was pulled into a little whimper at the lack of something to keep hold on, the Vietnamese man brought him closer to his form instead, holding him protectively in his arms as he placed the blanket around the both of them, warming the bed.

Antonio let out a little murmur of relief as he continued dozing away, looking much more relaxed with the other presence.

Quan simply watched his loved one carefully, golden eyes surveying the sleeping merman. He was breathing more evenly, and he seemed fine, which was a good thing – the Vietnamese man was worried that Antonio was badly scarred from what happened just hours ago.

'_What am I thinking?' _the Vietnamese man wanted to slap his forehead. _'Of _course_ he'd be shocked from that…hell, I was…'_

Mathias acting so outright angrily was a first for Quan – the Dane always put off any hostile actions towards him with that normal smile of his; seemingly not caring for the tone of aggression. One time, the Vietnamese man remembered when one of his customers came to his house to set up a deal because the snooty man and his equally spoilt children were far too impatient and insisted on using one of his boats. Upon meeting Mathias, that nasty man's children looked down on the Dane (despite his great height), sniffing with high noses and being rather edgy and challenging towards him.

The Dane either didn't seem to realize they were making fun of him, or he just didn't care, though; because he simply smiled at them.

But Quan didn't like them even more after they badmouthed Mathias right in front of both the Dane and his employer, so the Vietnamese man himself dropped connections with that wretched family; he didn't care if they were filthily rich and very well-known – it didn't excuse bad manners and a nasty attitude.

Besides, his business was fine without their customer consumption.

Though he took control of the situation as he was always expected to do, Quan couldn't help but still feel rather shocked at seeing his employee react in such a way.

The bitterness and the anger…

'_I know you're upset, Mathias,' _Quan thought to himself as he heaved a sigh, honey-gold orbs transfixed onto the ceiling. _'But, still…that definitely doesn't give you the excuse to assume that all merpeople are bad – you knew Antonio _before _you found out about him; he hasn't done anything, and you even said a lot of good things about him…that he's nice, has a great attitude and outlook on life.'_

"Quan…"

Hearing his name being uttered, the said Vietnamese man turned his head on a slight angle to look at the sleeping merman. The red-tailed merman's face was slowly morphing into a little smile which relieved Quan; having Antonio not smile was not only alien, but it was just…_wrong_ in his opinion.

'_I need your smile_…' he thought to himself as he reached a hand up to stroke some strands of chocolate curls that fell onto Antonio's shut eyelids. The merman simply shuffled slightly in the bed, leaning against the hand, smile spreading slightly on his face at the tender gesture as he continued to sleep on.

Now that he thought about it, Quan realized that Antonio could've had many chances to try and take him out to sea and drown him. Hell, the Vietnamese remembered the time of the freakish storm that claimed one of his best boats – Antonio could've just left him to drown under the grey clouds, the rolling thunder and the cold, cruel waves that were littered with debris.

But instead – he chose to save him.

'_You're very wrong, Mathias,' _Quan thought to himself as he blinked – eyes narrowing to slits as he observed Antonio closely. _'_Dead _wrong.'_

And all those times that they spent together on the beach before he brought Antonio in his home; the red-tailed merman could've just dragged him into the ocean. But no, instead the merman chose to crawl out onto the beach and sit beside him as they shared stories and belonging that were part of their respective worlds.

Quan felt his jaws stretch open as he gave an inaudible yawn, starting to feel tired as Mathias' raging on his beloved played in his mind again. The Vietnamese man heaved a small groan as he lay his head back into the soft expanse of the pillows, shutting his eyes. _'Seriously…why must this be so difficult?' _he wondered to himself as he rubbed at his temples. _'One big problem…what am I supposed to do with Mathias? How do I handle him here? He's never reacted in this way before…'_

His eyes were met with the ceiling as crickets were chirping outside.

Feeling Antonio squirm slightly beside him and nestle himself even closer – lying his head onto Quan's shoulder and settling his arms onto the Vietnamese man's torso, Quan simply shook his head, the burning glow in his eyes settling down upon the sight of his lover.

'_I'll figure it out tomorrow…'_

Leaning his face over slightly, he planted his lips softly onto Antonio's forehead before relaxing himself in his bed and closing his eyes and think of more positive, relaxing things to calm his mind.

* * *

The next day, Antonio was afraid to come down and eat breakfast; knowing that Mathias always joined at the table and ate with Quan's family. The red-tailed merman had shook his head frantically and hid underneath the blankets, trembling slightly still.

Seeing him in such a state, Quan softened and felt even more inclined to just stay and keep him safe and sound under his hawk-like surveillance.

Which was probably what caused him to call his work and tell his employees that he wouldn't come in for today and possibly tomorrow. This surprised them since by now they were used to the Vietnamese man's inclusion to hands-on fieldwork in his business, but they were perfectly alright with it – he was a hard-working man, and he probably had his own things to deal with since he had to take care of the statistics and finances.

Besides, they had no problem with it, either.

Quan came downstairs to get Antonio breakfast when he saw Kasem, Yong Soo and Mei sitting there at the table, eating rather silently. The Vietnamese man scowled lightly when he noticed that his younger cousins were avoiding eye contact with him – Yong Soo was spreading some chocolate spread onto his toast while Mei was trying to fixate her gaze on her eggs. At least Kasem looked him in the eye and gave him a tired looking smile. Sitting himself down at the head of the table, the Vietnamese man questioned, "Why so silent today?"

Mei jumped slightly while Yong Soo didn't look up. The Taiwanese girl tried to plaster a smile on her face as she said, "Oh…nothing, Quan-kun…"

"If it's about last night-"

"Don't worry about it, _hyeong_," Yong Soo then chose to look up with a small smile – not a huge grin that Quan was accustomed to. "Just…" the Korean boy poked his tongue out as he tried to find the right words. "Just really tired from yesterday, that's all…"

Quan blinked, but nodded in understanding, "I see…"

"I'm sure we're _all _tired from the events of yesterday, ana," spoke up Kasem as he tried to lighten the gloomy atmosphere that was caused from the previous day. "But, we just need to carry on forward with our heads held high and with a smile."

"Yeah, but not with Mathias being upset at Antonio…" murmured Mei sadly. "What do we do about that?"

"I am trying to figure out a compromise," responded Quan quietly as he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked down with narrowed eyes as he pondered, "Hmm…" after deciding to maybe think about it later, the Vietnamese man inquired, "Where _is _Mathias, anyway?"

Here, Kasem heaved a sigh, "Well…I just went to him several minutes before you came down, and…he refuse to come out."

Quan arched an eyebrow, "He…shut himself away? Seriously?" seeing his Thai cousin nod, the Vietnamese man gave an exasperated sigh as he rubbed his temples, "Lovely…just _lovely_…did you tell him that Antonio wasn't here?"

"I did, ana," replied Kasem looking saddened and exhausted. "But he still refused to come in; simply because he knows that Antonio's living in here…"

The Vietnamese man shook his head, looking rather frustrated now, but Mei spoke up to try and calm his grating nerves, "Don't worry, Quan-kun! I'm sure Mathias will come out eventually!"

"He said he'll still do his work," added Kasem. "So, don't worry, ana~ he said that he didn't want to leave this place even with Antonio was around – simply because he doesn't want to leave us."

"Nice…" Quan said quietly as he rubbed his chin as he tried to think more. He poked his scrambled eggs into his mouth and chewed slowly as he began contemplating. His eyes fixated at the back door, which led to the shed out back which had two rooms; where Mathias resided and now confined himself to.

"He also said that he didn't want to make you angry, as well," put in Kasem. "He doesn't want you to fire him, and he'll only apologize to you – but not to Antonio, ana."

"I see…" Quan shut his eyes as he swallowed, still thinking. Unable to come up with a solution for now, once he finished devouring his breakfast, the Vietnamese gathered some of the food onto a tray and a glass of orange juice along with a tomato for his merman lover. "Honestly, I think from last night's ordeal, I wouldn't be surprised if Antonio confines himself in my room…"

Mei said sadly, "No…"

Yong Soo sighed, "Great…they're _both _shutting themselves away at this rate…what are we supposed to do now?"

"I'll be sure to think of something," said Quan reassuringly as he balanced the tray. "Don't worry about it…"

"Don't worry he says," Mei mumbled watching her older cousin's retreating form. "Come on…this was the problem before; you never want to give some of your burdens and problems onto us…"

Kasem heaved a sigh, "For once…I agree; he shouldn't put everything onto his own shoulders – it'll overwhelm him eventually, ana…"

Meanwhile, upon entering his room, Quan could see that Antonio was still hiding underneath the blankets – judging from the big lump. The Vietnamese gave a small chuckle as he shook his head. Placing the tray down on the bedside table, Quan carefully discarded his sandals and tiptoed in a silent manner to Antonio's side of the bed when he saw the lump move and shuffle around the bed. His spindly fingers carefully holding onto the corner of the blanket, the Vietnamese man then took off the blanket.

Antonio gave a surprised squeak; his emerald eyes widening, but he immediately calmed down when he saw that it was just his human. "Oh…you came back, _mi amor_~!" the merman smiled brightly.

Quan arched an eyebrow, "You wanted me gone?"

"_Qué_? No!" Antonio exclaimed, looking both distressed and panicked. "No, no! That's not what I meant!" he immediately sat up and launched himself onto the Vietnamese man, knocking him backwards, and since Quan wasn't expecting it, the both of them fell backwards, landing onto the floor.

Quan gave a grunt with the merman's weight upon him, and a little pain throbbing at his arm from using it as a cushion instead of on his spine.

Antonio yelped, "Ack! _Lo siento_! I mean! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that! Are you okay, Quan? Please, don't tell me you're hurt!" seeing that his human appeared rather frazzled, the red-tailed merman cried, "_Dios mio_, I-I keep screwing up! I'm so sorry-"

"Would you stop talking for a moment?"

Antonio's face broke out into a furious blush when Quan suddenly grabbed his shoulders and pulled him downwards so that they're noses were almost touching. The Vietnamese man's own face was an unhealthy shade of scarlet, and honestly…he wasn't sure why he was becoming so bold all of a sudden – what possessed him to be so forward now? When Allie was around…he was a stuttering and shy mess. Sure, Quan still displayed notions of shyness around the merman, however, there was also a sort of boldness that formed.

"Erm, Quan…?" Antonio asked uncertainly.

Quan blinked, "What is it?"

"Aren't you uncomfortable on the floor?"

The Vietnamese man gave another blink then realized that the merman was right – the carpeted floor was stable, but it just because it was made from carpet, didn't mean that it was soft. His back was starting to ache, and honestly, Antonio's tail was settled upon his knees, making them rather tired in their current position.

"Yeah…"

Antonio slowly got off of him and sat on his rear with his tail slightly curled inwardly as Quan heaved his upper body up, rubbing at the back of his head. "S-sorry…" he grumbled.

The merman blinked, "For what, _mi corazón_?"

"For…" here Quan's mind drew onto a blank and his face flushed again; how was he supposed to word this without sounding like some sort of sappy simpleton? "Just…just being bold, that's all…"

Antonio blinked again, "Is that it, _mi tesero_?" seeing his human nod and clear his throat, fixing his gaze away from him, the merman couldn't help but give a little smile upon Quan's failed gesture. He then came forward and held onto the Vietnamese man's arm, and rested his head on his shoulder; it was a little bony, but it was warm and felt like home to the merman, "Why would you feel the need to apologize for something like that? Honestly…I would've loved it, _mi amor_~"

Quan's face exploded into flames again as he gave a cough, "Oh, really?"

"_Si,_ really~"

"I'm still…" Quan heaved a sigh. "Reasonably new to relationships…I had only one before, but we were never like this…"

Antonio scowled a little, "That's a shame…well, whoever they are – they definitely missed out."

"You think so?" the Vietnamese man asked, arching both of his eyebrows.

Antonio smiled warmly again – his emerald eyes sincerely bearing into Quan's golden ones, "I'm _positive_, _mi amor_~" he rubbed against his human's form. "One hundred and ten percent positive~!"

Quan simply sighed and lay his head against Antonio's, "That means a lot, you know? You've ever been kind to me…"

"I should be saying that to you," laughed Antonio, who was joined in his chortling by Quan, however once they stopped, he questioned imploringly upon seeing the Vietnamese man now looking solemn and serious, "Quan, what's wrong? You don't look so happy now…"

"It's just…" Quan sighed as he faced him. "Mathias, that's all…"

Antonio's face instantly fell upon the mention of the blonde human, "Oh…_si_…Mathias…"

"Yeah," agreed Quan with a nod. "I just wish we could sort all this out…makes me wonder what the merman that took away his best friend looked like. He mentioned a light blue tail with indigo fins…"

"Hmm…" Antonio then rubbed his chin, his tongue slightly poking out of his mouth as he appeared to be thinking deeply. Next, the merman's bottom lip jutted out while he kept his furrowed brows, still contemplating hard. The sight and posture was so exaggerated that Quan couldn't help but find it absolutely adorable on Antonio. "Hmm…"

"What is it, Antonio?" asked Quan, still considerably amused.

"Well, if we had more description on the merman that took away Mathias' friend, then maybe I could help," offered Antonio. "We're a pretty right race, actually – we know our neighbours quite well; we spend holidays and festivals together underwater, so it'd be no surprise for us to know each other pretty well."

Quan's eyes widened, "Really? How intriguing…"

Hearing the knock on his door, the Vietnamese man then picked himself up the ground and placed his hands onto Antonio, putting him into a bridal carry as he placed him back into the bed. Dusting himself off, Quan called, "Door's open."

Kasem, Mei and Yong Soo walked inside the room, Mei looking noticeably annoyed while Yong Soo looked awkward and Kasem had a more content smile that was stretched onto his face.

Quan was wondering why his family was like that, when he saw Mathias come in with bags under his eyes and his baby blues bloodshot and appearing as fatigued as his whole body. The Dane shot an angry, piercing glare in Antonio's direction but spoke up, "Quan…I'm sorry for last night; I was _really _pissed off…"

"But you're not going to apologize to Antonio, are you?" questioned Quan as he folded his arms.

Mathias said nothing.

"Mathias?" the red-tailed merman spoke up. Getting shot at by angry, ice blue cold fire, Antonio couldn't help but flinch a little, however, he shook his head and faced the towering human determinedly, "Can I ask you something about the time when your best friend was taken away? If you don't mind?"

"'_If you don't mind'_, he says," Mathias scoffed with his head raised. "But fine, I'll describe him, then. He looks a bit like you, but there _are _a lot of differences now that I think about it…got tanned skin like you and darkly coloured hair as well. But his hair was…kinda spiky – like mine, but more bushy. Eyes were light brown, and he had a long ass tail like yours – except it was light blue, and that part…" he pointed at Antonio's fins. "Was dark blue rather than yellow."

Antonio blinked then asked, "Wait…dark hair, brown eyes, tanned skin and a blue tail with indigo fins?"

"_Ja_…" Mathias said looking rather annoyed. "That's what I said."

"Was he wearing anything?" urged Antonio. "Like a necklace or earring or anything?"

The Dane then paused as he tried to remember more carefully, "Now that you mention it…I _do _recall him wearing a necklace. It had shells around it – all kinds of shells."

"I know him!" exclaimed Antonio. "I know who took your _amigo_!"

Hearing the red-tailed merman declare that, everyone gaped at him in shock. Mei's jaw dropped open, Yong Soo's eyes widened and Kasem clapped his hands to his mouth. Mathias' head perked up and Quan tilted his head with an arched eyebrow. Antonio's emerald eyes however were sparkling in triumph as he lifted his head high; looking to be proud of his discovery.

"You…know who took Lukas?" Mathias asked softly, shocked. However, he quickly shook his head and sneered, "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Antonio, are you sure?" inquired Quan evenly, ignoring the Danish man's hostile manner. "Are you sure you know who it was for certain?"

Antonio nodded, "I'm positive; he comes from the kingdom neighbouring the one where I used to live in."

"Really?" Mei asked.

"Yes, really," replied Antonio. "And…I know you might not believe this, but…I think that Lukas is still alive."

Mathias' head snapped onto the red-tailed merman, "Alive?! Seriously?!"

"But, it's been years since he was gone, ana," spoke up Kasem now looking a little unsure. "How could Lukas have been able to survive all those years?"

"The neighbouring kingdom next to the one that I lived in," explained Antonio. "It's pretty far away for you humans, but not for us merpeople. Right close to the neighbouring kingdom is a small island that's uninhabited – the merpeople of that kingdom have reported to have never seen a human live there for…well, the whole time they've lived there. There's also a few underground caves underneath that island – Lukas could be on that island or in the caves!"

"So…he's stranded?" asked Yong Soo.

"That very well may be," said Quan as he rubbed his chin quite intrigued with the bout of information that Antonio was spilling to them.

"One problem, though," spoke up Mei. "How do we know for sure that Lukas really _is _there? Mathias hasn't seen him for years!"

"I'll go and check it out," said Antonio. "Like what I said before; it's not far away for merpeople; I can go and look, then if he's there, I'll bring him back quickly. If not…" he bowed his head. "I'm so sorry…"

"Ha!" Mathias snorted. "This is just your excuse to flee, isn't it? Your little escape plan."

"No, it's not!" proclaimed Antonio. "I will _never _leave Quan."

"Trust me, Quan – he's gonna leave," said Mathias in a warning tone.

"I won't!" Antonio said shaking his head frantically. He looked at his human with pleading grass green orbs, "Quan, _por favor_, _mi amor_ – please, let me go and see. I _swear _to anything important to you that will come back!"

"I know you will," responded Quan as he heaved a sigh. "And therefore, I grant you that permission."

Everyone just looked at Quan incredulously, save for Antonio who instantly brightened at his human's words. The red-tailed merman chirped happily, "_Muchas gracias_, _mi corazón_! I won't let you down – I swear to you, I _will _come back and then, I will stay by you ever more!"

"I repeat; I know you will," murmured Quan. "Just promise me one thing; that you come back in one piece."

* * *

Back in the underwater kingdom, things were rather…_quiet _without Antonio around.

Francis and Gilbert could plainly see that while everyone was working normally, they themselves were rather effected without having their red-tailed friend around them to chatter along or space out at random moments. And really, it wasn't the same just doing things in pairs – doing things in trios were…more fun for some odd reason.

And when they tried to ask Emma to come along, she undergone a depression ever since the merman left. Despite trying to be brave and respect Antonio's wish for her to smile continuously, it was plain to see that Emma missed him a lot.

Hell, _they _were missing his bright and warm presence with them.

Lovino joined them various times, however his time with his friends became minimized due to getting various tasks from the royal palace placed onto his shoulders. The younger merman was already starting to feel the pressures of responsibility with obtaining the power of the kingdom, and it seemed to make him edgier and more exhausted.

Of course, Felicia was there to help and assist him various times throughout his multitude array of tasks and responsibilities, to which the prince was _very _grateful for. Sometimes, his younger sister would even insist for him to leave the palace to rest and relax – hang out with his friends while she would cover for him and look after some tasks while he was out to settle his tired form.

Lovino couldn't help but feel bad that his sister had to do some of his errands and duties. However, when he hung out with his older companions, he felt that he became more relaxed around them.

Like right now – he and the older merpeople met each other near the coral reef where they would hang out occasionally.

"I wonder how Toni's doing up there," Gilbert wondered as he gazed to the surface where the sun was sparkling – causing its rays to ripple down and shimmer slightly through the water's edge. He was leaning back on a large rock.

"_Oui_, I wonder about him, too," sighed Francis, his dark blue eyes with a bit of a melancholic feel to them as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm sure wherever he is, he's fine," remarked Lovino. "That human he wouldn't shut up over sounds like he's spoiling him. But…yeah, I wonder what he's doing up there right now. Discovering new things? He was always into that kind of shit…"

"I miss him so much," said Emma sadly. "I hope you're right, Lovino…"

"Do not be so down, _bella_," the younger merman said, softening upon the sight of the saddened mermaid. "Antonio may be an idiot at times, but that guy's fine! I'm sure of it!"

"We can't really do anything about this, though, Em," said Gilbert as he leaned back some more. "Because it's Toni's decision and hell – we have no idea where he is, anyway. Plus, him coming back so suddenly would raise a lot of questions; everyone's already settled with him running away to start life somewhere else around the ocean."

"But it's safe down _here_," insisted Emma. "He wouldn't have to worry about anything! He should've just stayed…"

Lovino opened his mouth to say something, however before anything could tumble out from his lips, something whizzed right past him; narrowly missing his curl, and piercing itself straight into the seafloor. The prince shut his mouth as he gazed down to see what the object that flew right past him was.

Gilbert sat up from his rock while Francis and Emma leaned closer to see just _what _it was.

Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, they gave a double take; _all _of them.

"What the hell?" Gilbert arched a white eyebrow as he got off his rock and began yanking the thing out from the ground. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Chigi!" Lovino seethed. "A spear!"

"_Mon dieu_!" gasped Francis. "What is one doing here, and _why _on earth was it thrown at us?"

Emma opened her mouth to respond the blue-tailed merman, when another blur flew right past her and stuck straight into the ground. They all gaped when they saw that it was another spear.

And soon, the four of them swam away as quickly as they could with Gilbert at the rear to fend off the oncoming troupes that were tearing towards them – spears held out right before him, their tails rippling along the riptides with their armour that was made of threaded shells strung together still staying in place.

"What are they doing here?!" cried Emma. "We're supposed to be at peace!"

"The fuck am I supposed to know?!" demanded Gilbert as he swam backwards to fend off the invading mermen. "Back! Back you unawesome ones!"

"We have to get out of here and get to the palace!" said Francis as he tried to focus before him. "Come on, let's go! Lovino, lead the way."

Lovino screamed in frustration, "CHIGIIIIIIIIII!" as he forced his tail fins to boost in speed – causing a trail of bubbles to appear as he and his friends fled.

* * *

_It appears that something urgent is happening at the moment. D: but it looks like Antonio's going to be on a little mission himself - a little searching expedition for him._

_What will Antonio find once he returns home and goes to the destination? Is Lukas even alive? What is going on below the surface? _

_The next chapter...not sure, really, but probably by the end of this week. =^w^= w__ell anyway, thoughts and opinions? I hope you have a lovely day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	16. Rattled Reunion with Erotokritos

_It's HetaWriter/HetaReader here; sorry for the late update, but I warned before that I have erratic updating times, and also I'm _finally _rid of all of my exams! TT7TT_

_Anyway, BIG thanks goes to **Juju19972**, **Guest **and **Madam Platypus **for the reviews. :DDD_

**_Juju19972:_**_ The merman who kidnapped Lukas _is _a confirmed character, you'll find out in this chapter just who that character is. ;) I don't personally like using OC's in starring roles of my pieces. ^_^'_

**_Guest: _**_Thank you very much! :D ah, that's okay - I can understand you. :) out of interest, what language do you speak in dominantly?_

**_Madam_**_ **Platypus:** Read and find out whether Lukas is. ;)_

_Read on~_

* * *

Antonio swam quickly underneath the waves – his body rippling in a constant rhythm as his tail flowed along to paddle. Usually cheerful face etched into a determined expression as he went lower and lower.

Before he would go to the island, he decided to at _least _bring some help – which was why after bidding goodbye to his human and his family he would go back to the kingdom first and find Gilbert, Francis, Lovino and Emma to see if they were up for an adventure and help assist him with this important ordeal.

Plus, it allowed him some spare time to catch up with them.

It made the merman both excited yet nervous; his friends were ever loyal to him – plus, they loved going on little outings like this especially since there were supposedly no humans on that island, and Antonio _did _miss spending time with them. However, there was the chance that the island was just that – uninhabited by humans. And if that were the case, then Lukas wouldn't be there at all, and Mathias would not only get even more swallowed up from his grief and regret, but the blonde human would _never _be able to get over his bitter feelings towards merpeople.

And despite how nasty he was to him recently, Antonio wanted him to be happy, too: he just missed his best friend.

'_I'm almost there,'_ the red-tailed merman thought to himself; tongue poking out slightly as he reached an array of rocks that overlooked the kingdom. _'_Dios mio_, it's been so long…I wonder how everyone is doing…'_

However, after poking his head up to see the beautiful kingdom that he grew up in, he was met with a shocking sight. His emerald eyes widened at the view before him as his mouth slowly flapped open.

Screams shattered his eardrums as he saw foreign merpeople swimming around with spears – his own people were trying to fend them away with spears of their own while some of the mermaids and their children were swimming away desperately with tears streaming down their faces. Everything was getting ripped apart – the stalls, the homes, the buildings…everything was soon ruined and torn away from the raucous as well as the fighting wore on.

'_What the hell is happening…?' _

Antonio shook his head immediately as he cautiously swam behind objects to avoid any confrontation – he needed to know what was going on and _fast_. How is it that a war was happening underwater? He had just told Quan, Mathias, Mei, Yong Soo and Kasem that the merpeople were all a peaceful race that lived in co-operative kingdoms without any troubles. Heck, they would meet every so often for festivals, gatherings and trades!

This was all a bizarre shock…

'_My friends!'_ Antonio thought to himself as he ducked his head in time when a spear missed a militia merman's head. _'I need to find them and fast!'_ looking around, his eyes met the palace that still stood proud despite the chaos all around it. _'They must've gone to the palace…'_

Being evermore careful in his swimming, Antonio was able to manoeuvre his way around and through the town turned battlefield, and eventually, was able to reach the palace pathway.

However, before he could enter the palace, someone grabbed him from behind.

"H-hey!" Antonio yelled as the arm snaked around his neck, choking him. A spear's point was deathly close to his chest as well. Looking from the corner of his eyes, Antonio could see a merman he was definitely not familiar with, that was wearing a white, marble helmet and armour that consisted of the same material. "Get off me!"

After a brief struggle, Antonio finally elbowed the strange merman in his gut and, after a strong and swift left hook, whacked him away with his tail. "_Dios mio_," the red-tailed merman shook his head as he hurriedly swam into the palace.

It was a good thing he entered, though.

Right inside, he saw that the grand hall was transformed into a battlefield in itself.

"Back!" Gilbert shouted as he fended off the enemy forces with what appeared to be one of their own spears. "Back off, you unawesome ones!"

"Not the face, not the face, not the face!" Francis was biting his bottom lip as he held a spear himself and was fending off another enemy soldier.

"CHIGIIII!" shrieked Lovino as he dodged all the spears that were heading straight for his head in remarkable speed. He then ducked and two soldiers instantly collided into one another by mistake. "Stay the fuck _away _from me, you bastards!"

"Gil! Francis! Lovi!" Antonio called as he joined in the fray, picking up a spear himself.

Upon their names getting called, the three younger mermen instantly stared in shock, though to say that they weren't happy about this sudden appearance from their friend would be a lie. "Hey, Toni! You're back!" Gilbert grinned widely.

"Red-tail bastard," exclaimed Lovino in surprise as his old friend joined by his side. "Why'd you come back? Shouldn't you be with your human?"

"I'll explain later," replied Antonio. "But it looks like you're all in a jam, _mi amigo_."

"We are glad to have you back, _mon ami_!" Francis smiled just as he quickly weaved past enemy mermen and reached his stronger and braver friend.

And so, that was how the fight wore on.

That question as to _why _there were enemy forces invading the kingdom was still burning in Antonio's mind, however fending them off was the top priority at the moment. The red-tailed merman was extremely resolute – he struck at the opposition and looked after his friends just in case they were in need of his assistance. And in return, they watched his back as well. The palace guards were fighting alongside them just as unwaveringly; their will fuelling the blood to pump through their veins as they gave everything they could – rather die fighting than give up and flee like a coward.

Antonio defended himself as he fiercely counteracted; somehow finding himself back-to-back with Gilbert. His pale-haired, black-tailed friend gritting his teeth as his crimson eyes narrowed venomously at the enemy soldiers swimming straight at them.

However after exchanging a glance with Gilbert, Antonio couldn't help but give a bit of a smirk himself.

And that was how a number of the enemy soldiers were blown back from a great force, all dazed from the force that the two mermen had done on them.

Unfortunately, it seemed that only more of them would come.

"_Mein Gott_!" Gilbert shouted, getting exasperated. "Give up, already!"

"How many of them _are_ there?!" inquired Antonio in shock as he blocked another blow from a spear-wielding soldier.

Francis was dodging with a fear-filled expression on his face, but he was eventually able to pick up a rhythm that went along smoothly with his movements while at the same time, fend off the soldiers that were coming straight at him and dodge around them so that they wouldn't hit him.

However, Lovino gave a loud shriek at that moment, "CHIGIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" before he swam in a great rush and, because he just needed to get away, ended up swimming _just _past by Francis while the soldiers that were pursuing him suddenly changed course and aimed right at the blonde, blue-tailed merman. As such, Francis quickly swam backwards to get out of the way of their blade tips and found himself close to his friends.

The blue merman's jaw dropped at what he saw, though.

There were a few strands of his silky, wavy blonde tresses floating around in the water.

Francis quickly grabbed at the ends of some of his wavy threads of gold and gave an almost sobbing cry as tears gathered at the corners of his pale blue eyes, "My…my hair!"

Antonio, Gilbert and Lovino looked closer to see that there were a few split ends on some of Francis' strands of hair. However, upon looking at their friend, the three mermen backed away upon seeing Francis' face suddenly darkening as he gritted his teeth in a ferocious snarl.

"_No-one_…messes…with my hair!"

And that was when all hell broke loose.

The battlefield suddenly became a frenzied pandemonium where Francis was giving loud war cries as he swam in a massive fury as he suddenly swam viciously at the invaders and began beating them off single-handedly. With their own spears, his fists, his tail, he even used _his own head_ to head butt them at one point. Antonio was blinking in astonishment at seeing his usually fearful and passive friend suddenly unleash this hidden beast while Lovino's jaw dropped at the scene playing before them. Gilbert meanwhile gave a whistle as he cheered, "Yeah! Get 'em, Franny! Kick their unawesome asses, man!"

"You'll pay for getting my hair!" shrieked Francis furiously as he grabbed one soldier's throat and bashed him against another. He used his tail to whack another, and back handed another when he came charging right at him.

"We have what we have!" one of the soldiers shouted, this one however looked like a general due to the more extravagantly decorated armour. There were shells embedded on his helmet, and he was wearing a chest plate of marble. "Retreat! This one's crazy, anyway!"

And with that, the invaders swam away, though Antonio couldn't help but notice that some were carrying around what appeared to be a sack that was squirming around. The red-tailed merman cocked his head in confusion, but nonetheless, helped Gilbert, Lovino and a still raging Francis to fend them off.

But that was when Emma came swimming in yelling, "No! Get back here!"

"Emma?" Antonio exclaimed in surprise. "What's wrong, _mi amiga_?"

"They have Felicia!" cried the mermaid looking upset. "I tried to stop them, but-!"

Lovino instantly shoved everyone out of the way as he started swimming in a breakneck speed towards the retreating enemy forces – appearing like a bullet underwater. Likewise, Gilbert's heart instantly froze at Emma's words as he swam as quickly as he could, too – following Lovino to try and pursue them before they could get away.

Getting closer and closer, Lovino could hear the angered and upset muffled screaming coming from inside the sack they were hauling off with them. The young prince stretched his arms out, hands sprawled as his fingers inched closer and closer to the sack – ready to just grab it. _'I'm…almost there!'_ he thought to himself determinedly.

But that was when he heard Emma shriek, "Lovino, look out!"

Lovino looked up to see that there was another soldier swimming right at him with his spear raised high in his strong arms. He then brought it down; the blade slicing through the air as the prince's hazel eyes widened in horror; expecting the spear to stab him right then and there and spill his blood in the salty sea.

But that was when a pale and black blur swam forward.

Blood _did _gush slightly out from a wound, but Lovino's jaw dropped at seeing that the blood didn't belong to him.

Gilbert seethed in pain; his teeth gritting back to an irritated growl as he clutched at his right arm – a diagonal slash present, dripping crimson liquid that simply floated and wavered along with the expanse of the salty sea. Nonetheless, he was determined to swim faster and pursue them to get Felicia back.

'_You are _not _taking her away, you unawesome bitches!'_ the pale-haired merman thought angrily as he swam forward again, though he couldn't help but wince in pain at the salty water seeping into his wound while it flowed more and more drops of blood in the ocean.

He attempted again to swim after them, only for a fist to collide into his face.

And everything soon got spiralled down to an empty, dark void...

* * *

"_Gil!"_

The voices were fuzzy, however he could've sworn that they were calling his name. His awesome name.

"_Gilbert! Gilbert!"_

Cranking an eye half-open, the black-tailed merman could see that there were four pairs of eyes fixated worriedly down on him. Gilbert then realized that he was lying down at that moment and judging from the change of colour and familiar items around it, he was back at the palace. He tried to get up, but he found that his back was hurting, and there was a throbbing pain that was splitting at his face – particularly his eye, and even then, he found that he couldn't open his left eye properly; only managing to squint it.

Upon seeing their black-tailed friend come to, Antonio, Francis, Lovino and Emma all let out sighs of relief.

"What's going on?" Gilbert questioned, rubbing at his head, but when he reached his eye, it hurt like hell. "Gah!" he then stopped and asked quietly, "How bad does it look?"

"Erm…" Antonio licked his lips before giving a little nervous laugh. "Well…it's not _that _bad, _mi amigo_-"

"You're kidding me, right?" Lovino questioned with an incredulous look. "He's got a fucking _shiner_."

Hearing the last word, Gilbert immediately shot up from his place, though he winced at the pain that rained down on his body for doing so. He was able to look at his right arm and detected seaweed bandages wrapped around his right arm. Emma then swam forward a bit hesitantly, but she had a mirror that was in her hands. She then handed it over to the pale-haired merman who took it with a shaky right arm.

Gilbert peered into the mirror and saw that indeed the young prince was right – his left eye was scrunched into a rather ugly and quickly forming black eye that marred horribly against his extremely pale skin. The black-tailed merman almost had a heart attack upon seeing it, but he snorted dismissively instead as something else burned in his mind, "Unawesome bastards…where is Felicia? Was I able to stop 'em?"

However, upon seeing the downcast looks and Lovino seething while looking away with his fists clenched, the black-tailed merman felt his heart drop, "No…" he gazed down in shock at his own hands and soon, they slowly formed into tight fists himself. "So…she's gone now, huh?"

"_Si_," Antonio said quietly. "Gil, it's not your fault-"

However, he was quickly cut off when his black-tailed friend suddenly smashed his fist in the wall of the palace that was just next to him. A loud slamming noise rattled the very place, as Gilbert punched the wall yet again.

"G-Gil! Stop that!" exclaimed Antonio in stunned surprise as he stretched his arm out to quickly stop his friend from doing so.

"_Scheiße_!" Gilbert snarled angrily. "I couldn't stop them!"

"You'll hurt yourself even more!" cried Emma. "Seriously, stop that!"

"Bastard, you really _will _hurt yourself, and we need all the muscle power we need to get my _sorella_ back!" Lovino finally shouted as he grabbed hold of Gilbert's brawny shoulders and shook him to get him to snap out of it. "Look, you and I _both _screwed it up; hell, I probably screwed it even more, but look – we're gonna rescue her okay, damn it?! So, just calm the fuck down and let's plan something!"

"He is right there, _mon ami_," Francis spoke up, his baby blues partaking a frosty tone. He had a hand on his hip as he continued, "There is no need to be so upset – we _will _find _mademoiselle _Felicia." He then gestured his friends over to a rather wounded merman who was wearing a helmet and some armour on his arms as well as an ornament on his tail. "We have a little prisoner," the blue-tailed merman then picked up a spear.

"_Muy bueno_, Francis!" Antonio clapped in delight.

"_Merci_, _mon ami_," the blue-tailed merman said with a smile; however it was rather crooked on his stubbled face with a manic glint in his pale blue eyes. "Now, now – I can interrogate him if you'd like~"

"Anyway, what the hell are you doing back here, red-tailed bastard?" questioned Lovino. "Weren't you supposed to snuggle up and live with your human or something?"

"It didn't work out?" asked Emma, her green eyes widening.

Antonio gave a laugh as he shook his head, though his tanned face morphed into a fond expression; his emerald eyes glowing happily, "No, no, no. _Mi amor_ actually let me come back, but I'm not going to stay forever. You see…" his expression suddenly took a more serious turn, which shocked Lovino, Emma and Gilbert – it was still so foreign to see the red-tailed merman with an expression besides a smile on his face. "There's a reason why I came back…"

"And what reason would that be?" inquired Lovino as he quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, you see…"

* * *

"Where are you heading off to this time?" questioned a soft voice.

Turning around, the tanned merman blinked his warm light brown eyes. His spiky hair was wavering slightly in the ocean as the slight tints of the soft rays of moonlight that wavered through the ocean's surface glimmered onto his scaly, pale blue tail and shimmered down on his floating indigo fins.

His eyes were fixated upon a mermaid that was timidly following him from behind a grey rock. Her pale blonde hair into long, slightly curled twin pigtails that billowed peacefully around in the ocean's expanse, following after her. She was wearing what appeared to be red anemones in her hair. Her tail and the stems connecting to the fins were red, however the wavy-shaped fins were white, providing a nice and smooth contrast.

"Maddie?" the tanned blue-tail arched both of his eyebrows. "You're here again?"

The blonde red-tailed mermaid nodded before giving a half-hearted shrug, "Well…why not? You've been coming here for a while, and I have to watch your back…"

The merman smiled, "Thanks, Maddie. That really means a lot."

The mermaid, Madeleine, simply gave a soft smile as she gave another nod, "Okay, let's go. I think he'd be waiting for you, as always, Mitchell."

"Indeed," Mitchell gave a small smile to himself as he swam alongside the blonde mermaid. "He _will _be waiting."

The two merpeople were swimming a bit more – their bodies rippling along with the ocean's wilder currents; their tails corresponding with the rhythm and movement of their bodies. No words were exchanged between the pair of them, but the silence was neither awkward nor tense – on the contrary, it was rather pleasant and welcoming. Alongside a good and trusted friend after all, no words need to be spoken between them; it's the company's presence that counts.

And looking at the merman beside her with her violet eyes, Madeleine couldn't help but smile a bit to herself at the sight of him; they grew up together, and he had grown quite well along the years.

Both of them were raised under the same mermaid – Madeleine's mother had taken Mitchell in when he was just a young merboy, and Madeleine herself was excited and happy at finally having a younger sibling.

At first, he was a very hyper and highly curious little merboy. And he was rather stick-like at first, but it didn't detract from his inquisitively upbeat nature, and he would swim around continuously in excited little bursts, which tired both Madeleine and her mother at first, but they both grew accustomed to it.

Besides, as he got older, he became much more subdued.

'_If only you didn't have to mix yourself with _them _at first, though…' _Madeleine thought to herself sadly as she and Mitchell finally reached an opening amongst a myriad of boulders and stones – leading to an underwater cave. They were swimming down a tunnel filled with only water; Mitchell at the front and Madeleine at the back, until they eventually found another opening, that was leading more upward.

And that was when Mitchell surfaced from the water, his head popping out from the ocean water.

The young merman was running his hands through his spiky, dark tresses to allow the droplets of water in them to drip out while his light brown eyes were scanning around the inside of the little underground cavern; seeing only stalactites, stalagmites, a pale sandy ground with various objects splayed out, as well as the rocky cave walls. His eyebrows knotted in a slight scowl as he peered around a bit more, searching quietly.

That was when there was a little movement that rustled at the corner of the little cavern.

"Mitchell…?"

The young merman immediately perked up at hearing his name being uttered, and with that, he whipped his head around. Brown eyes blinking rapidly before narrowing his eyes to peer closer. However, upon catching sight of the figure tiredly approaching him, a smile slowly spread out on Mitchell's face; showing his pearly whites.

"You came…" a deep, quiet voice spoke softly as the figure approached the edge of the water.

"Of course I would," Mitchell responded as he swam to the edge. He looked up as the figure leaned down on his haunches, face coming finally into view.

The figure was revealed to be a male human.

A male human that appeared to be in his low twenties, to be precise. He had light blonde hair that was rather matted and slightly limp from the salty and slightly humid environment; slightly longer, and rather messy. There was even a little, detached hair curl that somehow miraculously floated beside his head. He had dull blue eyes that were the same colour as sapphires, but they shone intensely as they peered down intently. His skin was rather pale, and the clothes that he was wearing were tattered and frayed – ripped along the edges and faded out in colour, but it appeared he was wearing some sort of uniform that appeared a bit too short for him now. He was also walking barefoot.

Mitchell tilted his head, "Odd…you have some fuzz over there…" he pointed at the bridge between the human's upper lip and nostrils.

"This?" the human arched an elegant eyebrow. "Hmm…" picking up one of the scattered objects behind him, which was revealed to be a mirror, he held it up before his face and gazed down at his reflection. Both of his eyebrows arched up in slight surprise, though his expression remained impassive, "It seems I do…"

Mitchell heaved himself out of the water as he crawled on his elbows towards the human, who now picked up what looked like a sharp blade from a spear's point. With the mirror, the blonde male human slowly and carefully used the blade to shave off the slight fuzz – he was accustomed in doing so for years now. You have to be slow and cautious when it came to shaving – otherwise there'd be a risk in cutting his face, and the human certainly didn't want that happening.

Once was enough.

"You didn't have to come out of the water," said the human male calmly.

Mitchell shook his head, "No, I'll save you the trouble." He then made himself more comfortable on the sandy ground, "So…how are you?"

The human shaved a bit more as he stretched his face while gazing down in his reflection. Satisfied at seeing his face now clean and smooth, he placed the mirror down next to a huge piece of torn fabric that appeared to be some sort of robe. Next, he came to the merman and seated himself beside him. "Doing fine," responded the male human. "How about you? Shouldn't you be staying in your home?" his blue eyes then fixed upward to the ceiling at the hole where the moon was shining in its elegant pride in the darkened sky.

Mitchell gave a slight chuckle, "Oh, so you don't like my company anymore?"

The human arched an eyebrow, "That's not what I meant…" however upon seeing his younger companion give a little chortle, the blonde human felt a little smirk tug at his lips, "But you'd rather spend time with me?"

"I like spending time with you," Mitchell responded as he gave a little smile.

The human male could feel his pale cheeks flush at the rather forward statement, but simply shrugged it off before answering, "Thank you, that means a lot…however, you came at a rather late time – I was about to go to sleep, actually. You usually don't come this late, anyway."

"I wanted to," responded the young merman. "Believe me, I wanted to…but since I'm here." Here, he gave a shy smile, "I can sing you to sleep, if you'd like."

The human arched his eyebrow again, "You're offering to sing me a lullaby?"

"In a way."

His face in contemplation, the human then gave a nod as he answered back, "That sounds lovely, actually; I would love that." He then leaned down and brushed some of Mitchell's spiky hair out of the way of his brown eyes before gently pressing his thin lips to the merman's temple.

Then, he murmured a silent good night as he settled himself in the great, tattered cloth, using it as a makeshift blanket despite it being somewhat dotted with specks of sand. He shut his eyes, awaiting for the merman's voice to reach his ears.

A bit flushed from the peck, Mitchell simply smiled shyly before he straightened his posture and laid a hand on his diaphragm and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth and the little cavern was filled with his rich and lilting voice that sang in a sad, yet beautiful tone.

Throughout the whole thing, Madeleine simply observed from her place with a tiny and fond smile on her face. _'Who knew…'_ she thought to herself quietly. _'All of this stemming from that one moment before…'_

And soon, the human was sleeping lightly – breathing evenly as Mitchell's voice continued wavering in the air and waltzing sweetly around, settling down upon his ears. Mitchell only gazed down with warm eyes at the human as he sung his final line for that very song.

A song that he had used as a form of temptation before, but in the end became a romantic poem in itself.

"_**I'll always feel no more than halfway real. 'Til I hear you sing once more."**_

Upon seeing that the male human now in a light and soft peaceful slumber, Mitchell began crawling quietly over to the lump on the ground. He ran a hand through his spiky hair again, but letting it come back so that stray drops of water won't drip down onto the human. He leaned his head down and spoke in a soft and gentle whisper.

"Good night, Lukas. _Je t'aime_."

* * *

_And well, here's your answer! It seems that Lukas _is _still alive, however it seems that Felicia was taken away and Gilbert is injured._

_[Characters Introduced]  
Madeleine [Nyo!Canada]  
Mitchell [Nyo!Seychelles]  
Lukas [Norway]_

_What will happen next time? Will Antonio and his friends succeed in rescuing Felicia and finding Lukas? How is Lukas still even alive?_

_Thoughts and opinions? Have a lovely day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	17. Cells With Romantic Recall

_Hello, HetaWriter/HetaReader here again. I apologize for the late update, but I've been busy. TT_TT_

_Anyway, I'll keep this brief; thank you so much to **xXBlueSariaXx**, **Madam Platypus **and **Young-Yan **for the reviews! :D  
_

**_xXBlueSariaXx: _**_You're quite good at guessing, you know that? :) I was impressed when you were able to get the majority of the guessing correct. Yes, poor Felicia. :( well, read on to find out! :D__  
_

**_Madam Platypus:_**_ They'll find Felicia, but when? Read to find out. ;D ahaha, as for that line, I just couldn't help myself - Francis is always a coward in every adaptation I've seen, so I decided to put some spice on his character a bit - I can imagine him getting enraged if someone messed with his hair or face since he's the type of person to be rather attentive to his appearance. XD_

**_Young-Yan:_**_ As I mentioned before, I couldn't help but add that line - I wanted to spice up France's character a bit because it would be interesting, and I can imagine him being like that. XD well, I support a bunch of crack pairings, and I tend to put characters that aren't normally associated together, so that's probably why. ^_^' _

_Short note ends now!_

* * *

It took Antonio a great amount of time to explain his case, but by the time he finished with his explanation, his friends were staring at him; expressions were mixed with shock, awe and a hint of disbelief. The red-tailed merman exhaled and observed his friends as he concluded, "So, that's why I came back."

There was a ringing silence that lingered in the sea's salty waters as the information still sunk in. Merpeople hadn't taken people for a great number of years – it became an established decision in the end that due to conflicts arising upon human interference and because they were rather unusual and unpredictable creatures that were capable of making massive destruction, the kingdoms of underwater agreed not to have anything to do with humans anymore or so forth be exiled as a result, let alone just snatch one.

They had families, too; they were strange creatures, but they were not without a home and loved ones.

But from the story that Antonio was telling them; a human was taken away a few years ago, the rule for no more snatching humans was made many, _many _years ago.

Things were becoming so bizarre now.

"Antonio…are you sure you want to go and check?" questioned Emma as calmly a voice she could muster.

The red-tailed merman nodded, looking determined, "_Si_, I want to."

"What if he's not there?" inquired the mermaid worriedly. "A human had tried to beat you because he hates our kind, what do you think he's going to do if you come back empty-handed?"

Antonio bit his bottom lip, but responded after licking it, "Then, I'll have to go and face Mathias and tell him. I know he'll be so heartbroken from it though…but he deserves to know if his _amigo _is alive or not."

"Bastard," grumbled Lovino. "Don't blame us if he's _not _and that human tries to strangle the living daylights out of you again."

Here, the tanned merman gulped, feeling rather nervous now at the thought of Mathias yelling angrily at him while trying to stab him with a spear. Antonio just hoped that Quan would be able to subdue the blonde human if that were the case and he couldn't find Lukas.

It would definitely not be a pretty sight.

"Can't help but feel sorry for that guy, though," Gilbert said in an unusually quiet voice. "Lose someone that means a lot to ya…of course he'd be pissed off at someone and be beat up about it…" his scarlet eyes were hued down to darkened crimson orbs as they became transfixed to the opened expanse of the now darkened ocean.

Lovino's jaw clenched before crossing his arms over his shoulder to which Emma patted his shoulder. "We'll get Felicia back," reassured the mermaid firmly. "We will once Francis gets something out of that one soldier he was able to get."

"Speaking of Francis; _Dios mio_ where did that come from?" Antonio asked, surprised. "I know that he cares about his appearance quite a lot, but from what just happened in the middle of a battlefield…wow!"

"Not just you wondering on that," said Gilbert as he rubbed his head. "I'm wondering on that, too – all that because he got a few split ends chomped off from a spear. But damn, Franny…that was a pretty awesome sight to behold!"

"Oi, blue-tailed bastard!" shouted Lovino at a certain direction. "How are you right now with the interrogation?"

"Be patient, _mon cher_," came the too casual reply. "_Monsieur _is quite stubborn."

Suddenly, there were shouts and cries coming from the direction where Lovino was calling towards; where Francis was at, however the cries and noises of agony didn't come from the blonde merman. No, on the contrary, they were coming from the merman soldier that they were able to capture. The four other merpeople could only stare at the direction when they heard Francis demand and question in variations of coldness and anger.

"Speak, imbecile! Where are you from, and who sent you here?!"

"I know nothing!"

"Wrong answer, _mon cher_!"

"I do _not _want to know what the hell that blue-tailed bastard's doing to make that guy scream," Lovino muttered, his curl twitching slightly from discomfort upon hearing the captive's screams. "I really don't…"

Antonio gave a nervous chuckle while Gilbert gave his normal, hiss-like cackle. Emma herself laughed a little.

"Hey, Toni," spoke up Gilbert. "How _is _living with your human doing, anyway? You said you weren't gonna stay with us forever; that you'll go swimming back to him once all of this shit blows over."

Upon the mention of his human, the red-tailed merman couldn't help the soft, tender smile that spread across his tanned face. "Oh, it's been so wonderful, Gilbert," Antonio sighed happily. "Quan is so kind to me – he looks after me, and teaches me more and more about his world! I'm learning something new about the humans and how they live every day!"

"Where exactly do you sleep, Antonio?" inquired Emma, still feeling a disappointed pang at hearing how happily Antonio's voice and expression were when remembering his human. "And what do you eat?"

Lovino could detect a kind of desperation in the mermaid's tone, and it caused him to scowl while his hazel eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. A sharp piercing shot purged into his chest at how much she was worrying over the red-tailed merman, and really, he didn't like it at all. He remained silent however, when Antonio responded, "Where do I sleep? I sleep with him, of course!"

"_With _him?" Gilbert gave a dark chuckle. "You skipping to the home shell, eh, Toni? Didn't know that you dove into that part of the relationship _that _fast, man."

"Huh?" Antonio tilted his head innocently. "Home shell? What do you mean, Gil? And, I don't think Quan and I are going _too _fast in the relationship."

"Have you bastards kissed?" Lovino asked, though a bit too bluntly.

"Lovino!" exclaimed Emma.

"What?" the prince questioned, his face reddening slightly. "I was just asking!"

"Actually, Lovi-locks puts up a good point," Gilbert grinned mischievously. "_Have _you locked lips with that human of yours, Toni?"

Antonio blinked, but when his mind finally processed the question that was placed forth to him concerning a _really _intimate romantic gesture, the red-tailed merman's tanned cheekbones burst into tones of scarlet as he rubbed the back of his head. His scarlet tail swaying slightly, "K-kiss…? Um…"

Lovino quirked an eyebrow while Emma's jaw dropped. The grin on Gilbert's face spread out even larger, "_Have_ you, Toni?"

"Well…" the merman then chose to rub at his arm as he looked away, looking extremely embarrassed.

* * *

"_Enjoying yourself?" Quan questioned evenly as he seated himself on the golden sand beside the wheelchair. He had discarded his sandals, so he could feel the warmth of the grains between his toes, and also to allow the cool ocean to nibble at them, too. "It must feel nice to enter the water again."_

_Antonio gave a giggle as he nodded enthusiastically, "_Si_! The sea's water still feels so nice!"_

_The Vietnamese man nodded, "I'm glad to hear that."_

"_Come and join me, _mi amor_!"_

_Quan stared at him blankly, "Pardon?"_

"_Join me!" repeated Antonio as he swam up to his human. He then crawled slightly up to Quan and pulled on his leg. The merman marvelled at how long and slender his human's limb was and how smoothened the skin felt as well, "Please, join me!"_

_Quan shook his head before gently yet firmly declining, "Antonio, I can't possibly-"_

_However, he was cut off when the merman pleaded a bit more – it was rather childish how he kept repeating "Please!" and "_Por favor!" _over and over again, but as Quan gazed at his lover before him, the merman's warm and imploring emerald orbs were bearing into golden ones; pleading with him to join him. And that expression that Antonio was giving him as well with his bottom lip jutted out…_

_The Vietnamese man heaved a sigh as he shut his eyes, though a little smile crept slowly to his thin lips._

"_Fine."_

_Antonio's eyes instantly glowed happily as his whole being brightened, "Yay!" he then made his way back into the ocean and dove in. Resurfacing, he waved and made a motion with his arm; beckoning his human to follow him. Then he disappeared below the water again._

_Quan gave a small snort as he simply removed his straw hat and discarded his shirt before diving into the sea. He could see Antonio beaming brightly at him, giving him a wave before they both resurfaced since the Vietnamese man was unable to breathe underwater and couldn't hold his breath forever. Once he resurfaced giving a slight gasp for air, he ran a hand through his hair – his bangs now matted over his honey-gold eyes._

_When Antonio followed him to the surface, the red-tailed merman smiled softly before stretching out his hand and carefully arrange the stray bangs from his human's face. Quan could feel his face bubble from heat, but allowed his lover to do continue with the action._

_It felt rather nice…_

_The both of them spent some more time swimming together in the ocean, Antonio closely watching his human to make sure that he was safe. Humans weren't really that great in the sea, even the best of swimmers had trouble with the deeper oceans due to the great expanse. A few times, Quan chased after Antonio, but the Vietnamese man had a feeling that the merman was either going very easy on him or wanted to be caught as whenever Quan would wrap his arms around Antonio's torso or take hold of his tail, the red-tailed merman would give a little squeal before bursting into fits of laughter as he struggled a little then escape from his grip, but only to be caught easily again._

_It was at a certain point of the day when the sun was starting to set at the horizon, Quan could also feel his muscles tire and throb in pain due to exhaustion. Also, when he came out of the ocean, he found that his fingers were becoming clenched from staying too long in the ocean._

_Antonio noticed him exit the ocean and worriedly swam after him, crawling next to him and placing himself right by his side when Quan lugged himself onto his rear before panting. "Are you okay, Quan?" the merman asked in concern._

_A light chuckle reverberated from within Quan's throat, "I'm fine, don't worry. I forgot that even if I can't breathe underwater like you, I can't spend so much time in the ocean, either…" before Antonio could question why, the Vietnamese man raised one of his large hands and spread out his long, spindly fingers – revealing them to appear rather wrinkly and shrivelled up._

_It both scared and amazed Antonio. "_Mi tesero_," the merman murmured. "What happened to your hands?"_

"_Unlike you merpeople, humans can't spend much time in water, either," responded Quan as he looked nonchalantly at his fingers. "It's rather complicated…I don't think you'll be interested-"_

"_Tell me," replied Antonio, cocking his head to the side slightly. "I'm curious."_

_Quan licked his lips, tasting the salt from the sea before shrugging slightly, "Well, humans have an outer layer of skin called the epidermis. It's made of cells called keratinocytes, and they form a rather strong structure made up of a protein called keratin. The outer layer of the epidermis is made of water-loving keratin, and this outer layer is also called the stratum corneum. When the epidermis gets soaked in water, the keratin then absorbs it and swells. However, the inside of the fingers don't swell, so therefore there is too much stratum corneum and so, it wrinkles up."_

_Seeing the rather blank and clueless expression on Antonio's face, Quan couldn't help but feel amused. Antonio on the other hand, felt very stupid; even back at school in the underwater kingdom, he never paid much attention as a merboy. _

"_You don't have to keep that in mind," said Quan as his lips twitched upward to fix into a smile. "It's just something I learnt back at high school science."_

"_You're really smart, _mi amor_," sighed Antonio in a melancholy tone. "How do you keep all these facts in your head? How do you remember them?"_

_Quan shrugged, "I've always been strange in high school."_

_Here, Antonio scowled, "You're not strange! You're really, _really _smart! And I think it's cool. Who called you strange?"_

"_It was years ago, Antonio," responded Quan, feeling both happy and surprised at how protective his red-tailed lover was towards him. "They were just commonplace bullies; they weren't really that much trouble."_

"_I guess not," said Antonio slowly. "You're quite strong, too."_

"_I wasn't so strong back then," replied the Vietnamese man as his golden orbs partook a rather fond, nostalgic tone of recollection. "I was far scrawnier back then than I am now…and I was short compared to the other boys."_

"_I find that hard to believe, _mi amor_," remarked Antonio as he tilted his head. Really, he couldn't imagine that; Quan was thin, but he wasn't so bony or on the verge where his skeleton was showing. He also stood tall and straight with a defined posture and his head held high. Plus, hasn't his human ever looked in a mirror before? It saddened Antonio whenever his human would flat-out refuse to accept compliments that were paid to his physical appearance._

"_Yeah, I know!" Mei giggled one time as she was talking on the phone with a friend. "Well, Quan-kun's really handsome!"_

"_No bragging about something so outlandish like that, Mei," Quan had said sharply upon hearing that. "Because I'm not."_

_Mei had pouted while flashing Antonio a helpless expression, and Antonio felt troubled by that; his human truly seemed to believe that he wasn't handsome or attractive, and it really got to the merman. "You're very handsome, Quan."_

_Quan opened his mouth to instantly deny it, "There is nothing handsome about me, Antonio."_

"_Why won't you accept compliments like that, _mi corazón_?" inquired Antonio. "I notice that whenever a compliment about your looks comes to you, you always deny it. Why?"_

_The Vietnamese man could only stare at the merman in a slightly startled state, "Why…what?"_

"_Can't you see that you're really attractive?" inquired Antonio as leaned closer._

_Quan's whole body stiffened upon hearing that; he opened his mouth, ready to disagree but something conflicted with that and stopped him. He _wanted _to believe those words and just take them, but really, he found that he couldn't bring himself to accept them. The Vietnamese man instead heaved an exasperated sigh as he shook his head, "It's…complicated, alright, Antonio? And…" his gaze fell to the floor as his eyes narrowed a bit. "I'd rather not talk about it…"_

_The merman bit his bottom lip, but nodded, "Okay. But just know; I love you the way you are, Quan. _Te amo_." And with that, he laid himself right onto his human's side, his head resting on the Vietnamese man's shoulder, feeling right at home; safe and protected._

_Quan's face heated all over again to match the warmth next to him, but his heart swelled happily upon hearing those words tumble out from Antonio's lips; these he could definitely accept. He turned his head slowly and simply to face him, "And I to you, Antonio. _Anh yêu em_." He wrapped his slender arm around the merman's toned and bare torso, bringing him closer to himself, delighting Antonio with the action as they continued to watch the sun set._

_Throughout this, Antonio looked up to see the sun's rays settle slightly on his human's face; causing his golden eyes to glow coolly as honey hues and tawny tints danced together from the rays. Just staring at the human with him, the merman could feel his own cheeks dust cherry red._

_Feeling a pair of eyes settle upon him, Quan looked down to see that Antonio was gazing up at him. The Vietnamese man peered down as he absorbed all of the details that made the merman's face; particularly gazing into those beautiful green eyes that were always glowing with warmth and shone with an innocence that was one of the reasons that drew him in so much._

_Eyes locked into the other's both could feel the electricity spark between them. Quan's heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he felt Antonio's hot breath escape from his lips. Similarly, Antonio could feel the pace of his heart pick up, the more he peered up at his handsome human._

_And soon, unsurprisingly, their warmth was connected after just a simple motion of leaning over._

* * *

Gilbert cackled, "_Kesesesese_! Nice one, Toni!"

Emma's jaw was still flapping up and down, still shocked at hearing her friend's recollection of that one tender event. "You…really kissed him?" she asked quietly, her pale green eyes boggled.

Antonio nodded, still smiling shyly, yet fondly at the memory. In all honesty, he was surprised himself once he and Quan had both partook in the intimate action, but soon after, the merman eagerly poured his feelings into that one kiss as he shut his eyes and held tightly onto his human. "_Si_," the merman responded. "I really did."

"Can't believe you actually kissed a human," Lovino's face screwed up into a slightly disgusted expression, however it seemed more like he was disgusted at the notion of kissing rather than the fact that Antonio's lover was a human. "But whatever; it's your love life, bastard."

"Was he good?"

"Gilbert!"

"Shut the hell up, black-tailed bastard."

However, with another sheepish chuckle, Antonio rubbed the back of his head as he shrugged, "How am I supposed to know that, Gilbert? I've never kissed anyone else before."

"Wait, you haven't?" here, the pale-haired merman looked extremely surprised. "Even with those mermaids before?"

"Nope," Antonio shook his head. "We never got past the cheek."

"Wow," Gilbert whistled. "This human _really _must be special."

"He is special, _mi amigo_," agreed Antonio wholeheartedly. "He's _very _special."

"But, anyway, you didn't answer the question, Toni!" spoke up Gilbert. "Was he a good kisser?"

"Well…" Antonio flushed, not feeling a bit uncomfortable; he really didn't want to go into details about the kiss he and Quan shared. He felt that it was a more private matter that should be treasured and kept to himself and with Quan's self. However, before he could say something, they all stopped when a voice was heard.

"_Merci beaucoup_, _monsieur_."

Francis then came swimming in, looking ultimately triumphant as his pale blue eyes glowed ceremoniously. "I have it now!" he exclaimed proudly. "I finally have it now! I know where they are keeping _mademoiselle _Felicia!"

"Really?!" both Gilbert and Lovino were instantly attentive and perked up at once. "Where?!"

The blue-tailed merman simply smirked, "You know of the kingdom that is near that empty little island that's a bit off from our kingdom, right? That's where."

However, at Francis' response, Lovino's face instantly blanched, "Fuck no, don't tell me it's…! No! Chigi!" the prince shrieked in despair. "I avoided that bitch for so long and I have to fucking _go back _there?!"

"_Qué_?" Antonio arched his eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong, Lovi? You've been there before?"

"I went there with _papá _and _sorella_," responded Lovino miserably. "Some royal meeting; _papá _also thought it'd be a good idea to introduce me with the princess of that kingdom…"

"Princess?" Gilbert questioned. "Really?"

"I think I remember that trip," Emma spoke up. "When you came back, you were a complete mess."

"Oh!" Antonio exclaimed in realization. "Was that when you came back crying and trembling all over? And you refused to leave the guards' side?"

"Shut up, red-tailed bastard!" snapped Lovino. "I wasn't scared! I just needed someone to back me up in case she would come after me! That bitch wouldn't leave me the hell alone! She'd always swim after me and cling onto me like a leech!"

"I heard she was pretty cute, though," Francis spoke up with his hands on his hips.

"She was, but fuck that!" responded Lovino. "I don't want a clingy mermaid for a wife! I'm so glad that _papá _disagreed with it in the end…"

"She must _really_ be a piece of work to get you all scared and set off, Lovi-locks," piped up Gilbert, looking a bit startled from Lovino's outburst. "I mean, man – you usually _like _mermaids; even so much as to go on par with Franny here…"

Antonio nodded in agreement while Lovino shrieked in furious disagreement at the black-tailed merman's uttering. However, throughout all that, the red-tailed merman couldn't help but wonder at the back of his head as an unsettling feeling resolved in his stomach. Shaking his head after the slight twisting, the merman glanced up to the surface and heaved an inaudible sigh.

'_Quan…I really miss you, _mi amor_.'_

* * *

"Let me go!" shouted Felicia furiously as she rattled against the strong prison bars made of white stone. "Let me out of here right now!"

"Put a sock in it!" snapped the prison guard. "Annoying little brat…"

If she weren't restrained in such a confined prison space, the young mermaid would've punched at the merman's face by now. He was lucky that he had others with him; they all jumped on her in her room and stuffed her inside a sack much to her outrage. She struggled a great deal, but stopped in horror when she heard her brother and his friends voices scream in terror.

Particularly about Gilbert.

From what she heard, Gilbert was hurt, and how much damage he took, the mermaid hoped it wasn't so much that the black-tailed merman was on the verge of death. Really, she hoped that that wasn't the case.

How everything became so messed up, she _really _didn't know; _papá _just said he would be gone for two days because he firmly believed that Lovino would be able to hold the kingdom by himself during his absence to meet with the king from another kingdom and have a discussion of sorts – something about arranged marriage. Felicia hoped it wasn't for her – she had seen Lovino almost get into one, and it was a disaster.

The mermaid scoffed, _'Well, she was a controlling, clingy and crazy loco, anyway.'_

Immediately though, her thoughts drifted back onto Gilbert – was he alright? He wasn't _too _badly wounded hopefully. He can't have died. Could he?

At the last question that popped into her mind, Felicia squashed it down as soon as it was brought up and tried hard not to think about it again, but the thought of the black-tailed merman no longer with her, her brother and their friends…it brought tears to gather at her amber eyes.

She quickly wiped them away and dried them up however upon hearing a sickly sweet voice question, "How is our little prisoner? Is she doing peachy keen?"

"She's doing fine, ma'am," responded the guard. "She's not hurt."

"Excellent!" the voice giggled.

Felicia frowned slightly; the voice sounded so familiar, yet she couldn't quite place just _where _she heard it before. She knew that she heard it somewhere, but from where it came from and _where _she heard it, she really couldn't recall properly. What was for certain, though, was that she had a great feeling that this person's face would make her want to smash it in with her fist the very moment she was out of her prison.

"I'd really love to see her!"

"As you wish, your Highness."

The door swung open, releasing a little trail of little bubbles that floated by as a mermaid swam in with a rather coy expression etched onto her porcelain face.

Felicia caught sight of a flash of coral pink scales, and upon looking at the merperson who entered, the young princess' amber eyes widened as she exclaimed in shock and anger, "You!"

* * *

_That moment where Quan and Antonio shared their first kiss was actually done in an earlier chapter (Chapter 13), but when Kasem questioned the both of them about their little "date" and Quan simply responded that it was "Nothing much, really." That little bit from Antonio's memory was what really happened. XD_

_But, anyway who is the crafty mastermind? Why is Lovino so freaked out? Will Antonio and his friends be able to rescue Felicia before King Romulus comes back and discovers the pandemonium?_

_Thoughts and opinions? I hope you have a nice day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	18. Note: (Please Read if Following)

_Greetings, HetaWriter/HetaReader here..._

_Well, sadly this isn't an update. But I can't do them for now...or the following week or possibly a little longer than that, I really don't know. I have to go to China quickly because I just found out that there's family business going on. Serious family business. I'd rather not go far into detail about it, but long story short; my grandfather passed away._

_Again, I deeply apologize; I wouldn't be surprised if this sounds hollow to you or like an empty promise. But, really I sometimes get the feeling that I'm letting people down because I can't fulfil my want of expressing and showing something that I wholeheartedly love doing during the time that I want. But I hope you can find it somewhere in yourself that you can forgive my tardiness and be patient, and maybe during that time away I can find it in myself to not beat myself up too much._

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_

_P.S. - I have posted this note on all of my stories still in-progress. But, to sum it up, here are a little series of previews on what will happen in the next chapters:_

* * *

**_A Tail For Two Legs: _**

Kasem couldn't help but give a sad smile from the front door as he gazed out onto the beach. His golden eyes were fixed on his Vietnamese cousin who was sitting all alone on the golden shores - patiently waiting for his red-tailed lover to return home to him.

"He's still waiting?" questioned Yong Soo as he and Mei came up to his older cousin's side.

The Thai man nodded, "Yes. He's been there since Antonio left, ana."

Quan himself simply stared out into the distance of the salty waters; his honey-gold orbs scanned slowly and carefully around the surroundings of the environment to look for any sign of shimmering, scarlet scales or glittering, golden fins. The Vietnamese man leaned his body forward - resting his chin on his knees as he continued to examine the sea in that same calculated manner. He wouldn't budge from his spot; no, not until Antonio came back home to him safe and sound.

So for now, he'd wait.

Yes, he'd wait for days if he had to.

_'Come home soon...'_ he thought quietly to himself. _'And be safe...'_

* * *

**_Fly High! Maple Version:_**

From behind one of the dressers, Matthew could see a pair of big, bright brown eyes peering nervously. When the Canadian boy's eyes fixed on the little thing, it gave a sudden squeak and darted behind the dresser some more.

Lovino clearly noticed this; he arched an eyebrow and asked, "What the hell was that?"

Here, Roderich heaved a sigh, "_That _would be Minccino."

Gilbert then bent down and roughly picked up a little ball of fluff by the scruff of its neck. The little Pokémon was revealed to have grey-coloured fur, with more more scruffs on it on its head, the insides of its larger ears, and neck. Its limbs were rather small and rounded, while its tail on the other hand, was long and particularly fluffy. Right now, it looked utterly frantic as it flailed and thrashed around in Gilbert's grasp as it squealed, "Minccino! _Minccino_!"

Matthew immediately opened his Pokédex to take a look, "_**Minccino, the Chinchilla** Pokémon,_" said the mechanical voice informatively. "**_Minccino loves shiny things, and will use its tail as a brush to clean any objects that are dirty. They greet each other by grooming one another thoroughly with their tails."_**

"Feisty little thing, are you?" Gilbert gave a wicked grin as he leered in the little Minccino's face. "_Kesesese!"_

All of a sudden, the little Chinchilla Pokémon flinched upon locking eye contact with the Prussian man that was holding it. Minccino then scrunched its tiny nose up, and its brown eyes were swimming with big, fat tears. Unsurprisingly, it began bawling its eyes out as it started flailing around even more in Gilbert's grip - almost desperately. Needless to say, everyone was rather shocked from Minccinio's reaction - everyone that is, except for Roderich who simply heaved a slightly exasperated sigh and shook his head instead. "Brilliant, now you have frightened Minccino," the Austrian musician said; voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I didn't do anything!" snapped Gilbert, though he looked understandably confused and a little panicked - he honestly didn't know what to do with crying Pokémon. Especially ones that were rather tiny like the one in his hand. "Hey! Stop crying; what'd I even do?!"

Lovino then spoke the obvious, "Your face and weird-ass laugh scared the poor little bastard, that's what."

"My face and laugh aren't weird-ass or scary!" exclaimed Gilbert. "They're awesome! And you, quit crying already! _Mein Gott_, quit using Fake Tears!"

* * *

**_HetaVoice: _**

It is a nice, calm and lovely afternoon – the sky was becoming mixtures of the colours blue, pink and gold blending together. The sun was shining very brightly up in the painted sky as it was progressively beginning to set past the horizon's point.

A long, red carpet stretched out to a massive building that stood proudly with the HetaVoice sign in the form of a great statue of silver and platinum components.

Right at the steps, which was at the end of the red carpet's straight trail, a _very _familiar Romanian man with strawberry blonde hair and red eyes, was this time wearing a green trench coat with his usual little top hat perched upon his head.

He gave a wide beam; revealing he had rather elongated canine teeth as he tipped his hat in greeting to the camera, that was now focused on him. His crimson eyes were flashing mischievously. "Hey everybody, and welcome to this episode of HetaVoice!" the Romanian man said cheerfully; obviously in really good spirits here. "I'm your host, Dracul Dalca!"

The camera then shifts into a far, high shot that shows the Performance Stage that is tinted night blue and bathed with plenty of blaring, white lights that shone overhead, eventually settling onto four big, red chairs that turned to face the camera, each with the four Judges seated there in a low angle shot. In front of their seats were big, shiny, red buttons that were on black podiums.

_A/N: __I've also developed a new writing format, so I'll rewrite the previous chapters as well, and hopefully it'll be revamped._

* * *

**_Little Plum Blossom:_**

The seasons had run around the corner i such a fast pace at the lake. Mei herself was growing - she was becoming stronger and bigger, and she was blooming into a rather pretty, little girl; she fit like a puzzle piece of a jigsaw, whenever she was frolicking and dancing around the colourful patches of flowers.

Once three winters had left, a teacher from Emil's school had sent word that Mei should come to the Town of the Resting Koi and attend school. However, Quan knew very well that his niece was very happy with her life at the lake. Strangely enough, he also didn't want her to leave, either. So, with that, he sent a rather polite (yet somewhat stern) word back that no; his niece, Mei, would _not _come down to town and into school.

He was perfectly correct, though - Mei was more than happy to stay at the lake._  
_

If you would ask her what she loved most about it, you'd be stuck for a long time as she described _everything _in great cheer. She loved how the summers were warm and welcoming with their bright hints of sunlight, and the colder yet nurturing winters where she stayed inside her uncle's warm home. She was very much content to spend her time with older company - her uncle Quan, Emil, Lovino, Feliciano, Grandpa Romulus, Lukas, Tino, even Berwald and Mathias who were previously unseen before but whom she met several times, and of course, the water buffalo. In all honesty, she did not really long for lessons or the company of other children her age.

However, it was one day when a man came to visit Quan.

When Mei was dancing out of the house as she twirled around, she almost bumped into him. She was rather startled by him just standing outside the door. He had green eyes and brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail.

Upon catching sight of Mei, he gently smiled down at her. "Hello there," he greeted. "You must be Mei - it's okay, there's no need to be scared. I'm an old friend of your uncle's."

Quan himself came out of his cottage right behind her, prompting the little Taiwanese girl to shift herself close to him. Especially because though her uncle offered his hand out to the man with the ponytail, his face was pulled down into a stern expression, and his eyes appeared cold. "We were neighbours once," Quan explained to Mei quietly before prompting her to go back inside the cottage. Once she was inside, Quan then raised his head and stood up straight, "Now, what brings you here, Daniel?"

"I'm pretty sure you know why I've come," the ponytail man, Daniel, replied. "It's about Mei - I can see that she's living in good health and that you're taking such good care of her, but really Quan, you must send the child to school."

Here, Quan snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest, "She is faring very well up here with the water buffalo and the birds. She learns good things from them."

"She may learn good things, but she does not learn _new _things," said Daniel calmly as he tried to coax the Vietnamese man. "She is not a water buffalo or a bird; the time has come to send her to school so she can be with other children. Next winter, she _must _begin schooling."

Quan glowered; his golden eyes glinting dangerously, "I will _not _send her for a number of hours on the steep path through snow and ice, only to struggle the same number of tedious hours to come back home at night. She is only a little girl - she could freeze before reaching halfway."

"That, I agree," Daniel said gently. "You shouldn't send her out in the cold and most especially during storms. You know...perhaps it's time for you to return to the town as well."

Quan grew silent when Daniel finished.

* * *

**_Smoke Catching Fire:_**

If there was something that Emil was sure of with high school in this country, it was that it was just like the climate and the terrain.

Harsh and heated.

After a lesson of Mathematics, Emil had Chemistry and since he was new, had to be assigned a textbook. The Icelandic boy accepted the thick, hard-covered book, and placed it into his bag, feeling the weight sag down, beginning to cause a serious strain on his back. He made his way to recess as soon as the bell rang in a hurried pace – remembering the huge crowd that he and Michelin had narrowly escaped from that morning.

At once, wherever he walked, people would stop with what they were doing, their laughing ceased, and now their stares all fixated upon him. Their whispers creeping into his ears as they continued stabbing their fingers at him, pointing.

Emil felt even more self-conscious and tried to hide the flush that was seeping onto his pale face; he utterly hated being the center of attention – _why _were they even staring at him? He really wasn't that interesting…

He tried to ignore all the pairs of eyes settled upon him as he attempted to eat his apple, but that proved to be a difficult task.

The next two periods were English and Health. And both lessons proved to be worse than Math and Chemistry.

During English, students were studying Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Emil was assigned his book and asked to read his number for recording which one he had, but when he responded, the teacher didn't understand him.

The Icelandic boy had to repeat what he was saying a good several more times before the teacher could finally understand just what he was even saying. By the time it was all over, students were bursting in laughter at Emil's expense.

Emil felt his face go in flames, and he wished desperately that he could just evaporate on the spot.

Health was disturbing and distasteful to him. It seemed that the only thing that Emil could properly hear in the classroom were a bunch of innuendos and rude jokes about a person's private areas, be they male or female.

The Icelandic boy didn't know how many times he turned red, but assuming how he felt his face grow hot every so often, it would probably be many times.

Unfortunately, the boy who showed ill will towards him in the morning, Alex, was in both Emil's English and Health classes, and he proved to be a great nuisance.

_A/N: Because I now am aware of the 2P's, I will use them as villains. In this case, I will have Alex (2P!America) be the antagonist in **Smoke Catching Fire**. Simply because I feel that using OC's are too sloppy._

* * *

**_The Soldier:_**

"That was a sick game out there, Toni!" Gilbert grinned as he smacked his Spanish friend's back. "Really! That move you did; it was awesome!"

Antonio flushed a little with pleasure at the compliment, and he beamed brightly back at his silver-haired companion, "_Muchas gracias_, Gilbert, _mi amigo_! I practised really, _really _hard to perfect that move in time for the big game!"

Francis gave a little chuckle himself while the others were immersing with their ice-creams, "Tell me about it, _mon ami_. I have seen you practice - you are a very determined person."

Antonio simply smiled, "_Si_, I try really hard. Especially if it's something I_ really _care about."

"One Maple walnut and bubblegum cone, one Milo and mango cream, and one strawberry and mint cone?" the clerk asked, though she looked breathless and excited at seeing the three teenage boys.

"_Merci_," Francis said gratefully before giving her a wink. The female clerk swooned so much at this, as the Frenchman took his ice-cream and gave a lick, "Very nice..."

"Mine's awesome, too!" Gilbert flashed a thumbs-up.

Antonio took his and turned around, just ready to take a step, when he suddenly bumped into something hard and a bit _too _unexpectedly.

The next thing the Spaniard knew, his scoop of Milo ice-cream was no longer on the cone, and it was on someone's suit. A rather darkly coloured suit. And to say that the someone who was _wearing _the suit with Antonio's scoop of Milo ice-cream was angry was an understatement.

No...he was _furious_.

"What the fuck?! _You _again?!"

Antonio blinked as he stared in dazed shock at the person who was in front of him - it was that Italian man who he had accidentally bumped into the day that he, Gilbert and Francis skipped classes and went to that diner that served the pancakes. _'It's him! Lovino!'_

Seeing the outraged expression on the Italian's face, and the flames that were dancing in his eyes, Antonio then realized the brown delectable treat that was splattered on the man's rather nice-looking suit. At first, Antonio only stared at it blankly, but when his brain finally processed on what had just happened, the Spaniard gasped, "O-oh! _Lo siento_! I mean! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to get your suit dirty, I-"

"You fucking _dumb_ass!" Lovino snarled angrily; his mood definitely not calmed down as he was handed tissues from his blonde, bespectacled companion. "This was expensive as fuck!"

"And a waste of perfectly good ice-cream," a rather heavyset man with dreadlocks sighed sadly.

"Here! Let me help!" Antonio was handed a bottle of water from Francis who tried to be saving grace to the rather bleak situation. However, Antonio wasn't sure whether it was his eagerness in helping out, or his nervousness in seeing this man again (and _furious _nonetheless), but he suddenly became rather clumsy, and, as a result, he stumbled forward and almost dropped the bottle of water.

Sadly, its contents landed all over Lovino's head.

Lovino's mouth was wide open, and his amber eyes were wide with absolute shock. His two partners both looked astonished as to what just happened, and Francis's jaw dropped in surprise. Gilbert meanwhile was simply licking his ice-cream, obviously enjoying the sweet flavours. Antonio himself was _horrified_ - his mouth was flapping open and close, as he tried to string some words together. "I..." he really did _not _know what to say here. "I...I am _so _sorry...I" And Lovino looked like he was close to exploding, too - his face was becoming redder and redder. Much like a tomato. Well, Antonio could definitely use a tomato at the moment - those were his comfort food after all.

Before the young Spaniard could say anything more, it seemed as if Lovino _did _explode.

"_CHIGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!_"


End file.
